I 


m** 


in 

CM 


No. 


Division 

Range 

Shelf........ 


Received 


OF   THE 


VISITS 


TO 


EUROPEAN  CELEBRITIES 


BY 


WILLIAM  B.  STB,  AGUE,  D.D. 

n 


Dcberi  hoc  a  me  tantis  ingeniis  putavi. 

CICBRO. 


BOSTON: 

O  U  L  D     AND     LINCOLN, 

69    WASHINGTON    STREET. 

NEW  YORK:    SHELDON,  LAMPORT  &  BLAKEMAN, 

116    NASSAU    STREET. 

1855. 


\ 


o 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1855,  by 

GOULD    AND    LINCOLN, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


THOMAS  B.  SMITH, 
8TEREOTTPER  AND  ELECTROTYPES 

82  &  84  Beekman  St.,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 


TN  1828,  and  again  in  1836,  I  had  the  privi- 
lege  of  passing  a  few  months  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe  and  in  Great  Britain.  In 
both  visits,  especially  the  latter,  I  was  more 
interested  to  see  men  than  things;  and  I  not 
only  made  the  acquaintance,  so  far  as  I  could, 
of  distinguished  individuals  as  they  came  in 
my  way,  but  sometimes  made  circuitous  routes 
in  order  to  secure  to  myself  this  gratification. 
It  was  my  uniform  custom,  after  every  such 
interview,  to  take  copious  memoranda  of  the 
conversation,  including  an  account  of  the  in- 
dividual's appearance  and  manners — in  short, 
defining,  as  well  as  I  could,  the  whole  impress- 
ion which  his  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral 


IV  PREFACE. 

« 

man  had  made  upon  me.  On  my  return  from 
my  second  tour,  I  was  requested  by  several 
persons,  who  were  aware  of  the  extent  to 
which  I  had  gone  in  recording  these  personal 
details,  to  compile  from  them  a  series  of 
sketches  to  be  submitted  to  the  public  eye; 
but  while,  for  several  reasons,  I  had  no  dis- 
position to  engage  in  such  an  enterprize,  the 
decisive  consideration  against  it  was,  that  the 
individuals  were  then  all  living,  and  I  had 
reason  to  believe  there  were  some  among 
them  whose  delicacy  might  be  wounded  by 
what  they  would  regard  as,  at  least,  a  prema- 
ture publication.  The  consequence  was,  that 
my  notes  lay  buried  in  my  diary  for  more 
than  fifteen  years ;  nor  would  they  have  been 
exhumed  at  this  time,  if  nearly  all  their  sub- 
jects had  not  passed  away. 

A '  year  or  two  since,  my  highly  esteemed 
friend,  Dr.  Leyburn,  one  of  the  conductors  of 
"The  Presbyterian,"  requested  me  to  contribute 
something  in  aid  of  his  editorial  labours;  and 


PREFACE.  V 

I  ventured  to  send  him  a  series  of  articles, 
entitled  "Eminent  persons  abroad,"  which  ap- 
peared in  nearly  successive  weeks,  during  the 
greater  part  of  a  year.  As  it  has  been  inti- 
mated to  me  from  different  quarters,  that  there 
are  those  who  would  be  glad  to  see  these  notices 
embodied  in  a  small  volume,  I  have  consented 
to  the  suggestion,  though  not  without  some 
misgivings — partly  on  the  ground  that  many 
of  them  are  so  exceedingly  slight,  and  partly 
because  I  believe  that  a  few  of  the  subjects 
still  survive.  I  have,  however,  gone  carefully 
over  them,  omitting,  correcting,  and  adding, 
so  that  I  am  willing  to  hope  that  they  may 
be,  at  least,  a  little  less  unworthy  of  public 
notice  than  as  they  originally  appeared  in  the 
newspaper.  Several  new  subjects,  also,  have 
been  introduced;  and  I  cannot  forbear  to  add 
that  I  have  material  in  respect  to  several 
more,  and  those  among  my  most  cherished 
friends,  which  a  merciful  Providence  yet  for- 
bids me  to  use.  May  each  of  them  gather 


VI  PREFACE. 

many  new  gems  to  his  immortal  crown,  before 
death  shall  remove  all  restraint  from  the  hand 
of  gratitude  and  affection,  that  should  under- 
take to  portray  their  characters. 

The  subjects  are  arranged  exactly  in  the 
order  in  which  I  saw  them,  except  that  I  have 
noticed  two  or  three  in  connexion  with  my 
last  visit,  of  whom  I  had  some  knowledge 
during  my  first.  The  list  of  those  whom  I  met 
in  1828,  closes  with  Dr.  M'Call— all  that  fol- 
low were  the  acquaintances  of  1836.  At  the 
suggestion  of  the  publishers,  a  fac-simile  of 
the  signature  of  each  of  the  persons  noticed 
has  been  introduced. 


C  0  n  1 1  n  t  s. 


i. 

MM 

EDWARD  IRVING- 13 


II. 

ROWLAND  HILL 


III. 
MATTHEW  WILKS   .................      27 

IV. 
GEORGE  BORDER     ..........    .......      34 

V. 

WILLIAM  ORMB  ..................      39 


V1U  CONTENTS. 

VI. 

PAGK 

WILLIAM  WILBERFORCE  .    .    .............      44 

VII.  I 

WILLIAM  JAY    ..................      60 

VIII. 
ROBERT  HALT.  —  JOHN  FOSTER  .............      65 

* 

IX. 
HANNAH  MORE  ..................      64 

X. 
DR.  M'CALL    ...................       ?3 


XI. 

DUCHESS  DB  BROGLIE  —  MADAME  NET—MARSHAL  GROUCHY     .  81 

i 

XII. 

GENERAL  BERNARD  —  GUIZOT  —  Louis  PHILIPPE       ......      86 

XIII. 

SISMONDI  —  DEOANDOLLE   ...............      92 


CONTENTS. 

XIV. 

PAGE 

BLUMHARDT—  YINET      ................      97 

XV. 

DR.   PlNKERTON  ..................      102 

XVI. 

DR.  ROEHR  —  DR.  FRORIEP  —  MADAME  DE  GOETHE  ......    107 

XVII. 
THOLUCK  —  G-ESENIUS  —  FOUQUET    ............    115 

XVIII. 
DR.  HEUBNER    ..................    123 

XIX. 

NBAITDER  —  HEVGSTEKBHRG  ..............    130 

XX. 

ALEXANDER  YON  HUMBOLDT  —  RITTER  —  HENRY  —  RAUMEUR  — 

STEPHENS  —  HITZIG  —  SAVIGNY—  G-ANS—  ENCKE  —  OLBERS     .    .    188 

XXI. 

SAITUEL  ROGERS  —  THOMAS  CAMPBELL    ..........    14t 

1* 


• 


X  CONTENTS. 

XXII. 

PAGE 

DR.  OLINTHUS  GREGORY 153 

XXIII. 

LUCY  AIKEN — JOANNA  BAILLIE — ELIZABETH  FRY 159 

XXIV. 

DR.  JOHN  PYE  SMITH — EGBERT  ASPLAND — JOHN  TOWELL  BUTT — 
GEORGE  DYER 166 

XXV. 

JOSIAH  PRATT — THOMAS  HART  WELL  HORNE 173 

XXVI. 
THOMAS  WILSON 177 

XXVII. 

JOSEPH  JOHN  GURXEY — AMELIA  OPIE  .  184 


XXVIII. 

CHARLES  SIMEON — PROFESSOR  LEE  195 


XXIX. 

DR.  BUNTING — DR.  PUSEY — DR.  M'BRIDE — ESTHER  COPLEY  204 


CONTENTS.  XI 

• 

XXX. 

PAGE 

MRS  SHERWOOD 210 

XXXI. 
MARIA  EDGEWORTH 216 

XXXII. 

EDWARD  BICKERSTETH — DR.  SINGER 225 

XXXIII. 
JOHN  GALT 232 

XXXIV. 

GREVILLE  EWINO — DR,  HEUGH — DR.  WABDLAW — DR.  M'Gn/L     .    25* 

XXXV. 

MRS.  GRANT  OP  LAGGAN »    .    242 

XXXVI. 
DR.  CHALMERS 250 

XXXVII. 

DR.  LEE — DR.  GORDON — DR.  PEDDIE  .    262 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 

XXXVIII. 

BURNS'   FRIENDS. 


FA6K 


ROBERT  AINSLEE — MRS.  M'LEHOSC — MRS.  SMITH  or  MELYIN  269 


XXXIX. 


DR.  ABERCROMBIE — DR.  ALISON 276 


XL. 


LORD  JEFFREY — SIR  DAVID  BREWSTER — PROFESSOR  WILSON  .    .    282 


XLI. 


DR.  THOMAS  DICK 


XLII 


EGBERT  SOUTHET   .  295 


T  WAS  fortunate  enough  to  see  and  hear  EDWARD 
-*-  IRVING,  a  little  before  the  dispensation  of  the 
tongues  opened  upon  him.  He  was  then  the  min- 
ister of  the  Caledonian  chapel  in  London,  and  had 
a  highly  respectable  congregation,  though  it  was  evi- 
dent that  his  glory  had  begun  to  wane.  The  great 
number  of  the  nobility  that  had  thronged  to  hear 
him  on  his  first  going  to  London,  had  now  fallen 
off;  and  though  he  was  universally  spoken  of  as 
a  man  of  remarkable  genius,  it  seemed  to  be  almost 
as  universally  conceded  that  his  genius  was  not  a 
little  obscured  by  his  eccentricity ;  and  there  were 
not  wanting  those  who,  even  then,  ventured  the 
opinion  that  a  few  years  more  would  show  him  to 
be  a  madman.  I  was  not  a  little  curious  to  hear 
him  for  myself,  and  accordingly  took  advantage  of 
one  of  the  earliest  opportunities  after  my  arrival  in 
London  for  doing  so. 

After  a  long  walk  on  Sunday  morning,  I  reached 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


XXXVIII. 


BURNS'   FRIENDS. 


PA6K 


ROBERT  AINSLEE — MRS.  M'LEHOSE — MRS.  SMITH  or  MELVIN  269 


XXXIX. 


DR.  ABERCROMBIE — DR.  ALISON 216 


XL. 


LORD  JEFFREY — SIR  DAVID  BREWSTER — PROFESSOR  WILSON  .    .    282 


XLI. 
DR.  THOMAS  DICK 200 


XLII. 


ROBERT  SOUTHET 


295 


T  WAS  fortunate  enough  to  see  and  hear  EDWARD 
•*-  IRVING,  a  little  before  the  dispensation  of  the 
tongues  opened  upon  him.  He  was  then  the  min- 
ister of  the  Caledonian  chapel  in  London,  and  had 
a  highly  respectable  congregation,  though  it  was  evi- 
dent that  his  glory  had  begun  to  wane.  The  great 
number  of  the  nobility  that  had  thronged  to  hear 
him  on  his  first  going  to  London,  had  now  fallen 
off;  and  though  he  was  universally  spoken  of  as 
a  man  of  remarkable  genius,  it  seemed  to  be  almost 
as  universally  conceded  that  his  genius  was  not  a 
little  obscured  by  his  eccentricity ;  and  there  were 
not  wanting  those  who,  even  then,  ventured  the 
opinion  that  a  few  years  more  would  show  him  to 
be  a  madman.  I  was  not  a  little  curious  to  hear 
him  for  myself,  and  accordingly  took  advantage  of 
one  of  the  earliest  opportunities  after  my  arrival  in 
London  for  doing  so. 

After  a  long  walk  on  Sunday  morning,  I  reached 


14  EDWARD     IRVING. 

the  place  of  worship  in  which  he  officiated  ;  and  as 
I  was  standing  by  the  door,  a  gentleman,  apparently 
noticing  me  as  a  stranger,  came  up,  and  told  me 
to  ask  the  sexton,  as  I  entered  the  church,  to  show 
me  to  Mr.  Irving's  pew.  He  perceived  that  I  hesi- 
tated, as  if  questioning  his  authority ;  but  he  as- 
sured me  that  I  need  not  hesitate,  as  he  was  taking 
no  liberty  that  did  not  belong  to  him.  As  I  knew 
no  other  way  of  finding  a  seat,  I  sallied  forth  ac- 
cording to  his  direction,  and  quickly  landed  in  Mr. 
Irving's  pew.  Mr.  Irving  was  already  in  the  pulpit, 
and  was  reading  a  psalm,  of  course  from  the  old 
Scotch  version.  His  appearance  impressed  me  at 
once  as  most  extraordinary ;  and  my  wonder,  instead 
of  being  abated,  rose  to  a  higher  and  higher  pitch 
till  the  close  of  the  service.  His  face  was,  as  the 
pictures  represent  it — rugged  and  dark,  bearing  the 
unequivocal  marks  of  genius — generally  of  a  severe 
and  even  fierce  expression,  but  now  and  then  lighted 
up  for  a  moment  with  bright  sunshine.  His  long  hair 
hung  gracefully  and  carelessly  about  his  shoulders. 
His  voice,  on  a  low  note,  was  bland  and  musical ;' 
but  when  he  became  highly  excited,  it  was  grating, 
almost  to  absolute  torture.  His  prayers  were  ut- 
tered with  great  solemnity  and  evon  pathos,  but 
they  were  scarcely  suitable  prayers  to  be  offered  by 
sinners.  I  could  easily  have  imagined  myself  in  a 
congregation,  if  not  of  angels,  at  least  of  those 
who  had  grown  into  perfect  persons  in  Christ.  His 
sermon  was  worthy,  I  had  almost  said,  of  a  splendid 


EDWAKD     IRVING.  15 

maniac.  There  was  now  and  then  a  passage  in  it 
that  was  not  only  perfectly  intelligible,  but  per- 
fectly magnificent  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  it  was 
pervaded  by  an  air  of  mysticism,  which  left  me  little 
else  to  do  than  gaze  and  wonder.  His  subject  led 
him  to  speak  of  the  constitution  of  the  person  of 
the  Saviour  ;  and,  so  far  as  I  could  understand  him, 
I  could  not  but  be  startled  at  his  presumption.  I 
had,  of  course,  no  idea  of  what  a  few  months  would 
bring  forth ;  but  the  sermon  which  I  heard  from 
him  left  me  in  no  doubt  that  he  was  on  his  way 
to  some  higher  point  of  extravagance  than  he  had 
yet  reached  ;  and  when  I  heard  of  the  tongues,  I 
felt  that  that  was  only  the  legitimate  result  of  the 
wonderful  words  which  I  had  heard  him  utter,  and 
the  no  less  wonderful  works  (taking  into  view  the 
writhings  of  his  body  and  the  contortions  of  his 
countenance,)  which  I  had  seen  him  perform. 

I  was  so  much  impressed  by  his  unique  appearance, 
as  well  as  the  brilliancy  and  originality  of  many  of 
his  thoughts,  that,  as  he  went  on  with  his  discourse, 
I  felt  a  constantly-growing  desire  to  have  an  inter- 
view with  him ;  but,  as  I  had  no  introductory  letter, 
I  did  not  at  first  see  any  decent  way  of  gratifying 
my  curiosity.  At  length,  however,  it  occurred  to  me 
that,  as  I  was  in  Mr.  Irving's  pew  under  rather 
equivocal  circumstances,  and  without  an  invitation 
from  any  of  his  family,  it  would  seem  no  more 
than  reasonable  that  I  should  apologize  for  having 
taken  such  a  liberty.  Accordingly,  I  determined 


16  EDWARD     IRVING. 

that,  when  he  came  out  of  the  pulpit,  I  would 
venture  to  approach  him  with  this  apology ;  but, 
to  my  disappointment,  he  descended  the  stairs  rap- 
idly, and  immediately  stepped  back  into  his  vestry, 
closing  the  door  after  him.  Supposing  that  my 
case  had  now  become  hopeless,  I  was  in  the  act  of 
leaving  the  church,  and  had  got  half  down  the 
aisle,  when  I  looked  back,  and  saw  that  the  door 
leading  into  the  vestry  was  open,  and  several  gen- 
tlemen were  entering.  I  turned  about  and  followed 
them ;  and  after  waiting  till  their  conversation  with 
Mr.  Irving  seemed  to  be  over,  I  stepped  up  and 
introduced  myself  as  a  clergyman  from  America,  and 
then  told  him  under  what  circumstances  I  had  that 
morning  found  my  way  to  his  pew.  He  assured  me 
that  no  apology  was  necessary,  and  that  any  Ameri- 
can minister  was  welcome  not  only  to  his  pew  but 
to  his  heart,  even  without  the  formality  of  an  intro- 
duction. As  I  parted  with  him  after  a  few  moments, 
he  invited  me  to  call  and  see  him,  in  the  course  of 
the  week,  at  his  house  ;  but  he  said  that  his  engage- 
ments were  so  pressing  that  he  was  obliged  gen- 
erally to  deny  himself  to  visitors,  and  that  I  must 
tell  the  servant  at  the  door  that  I  had  called  at  his 
request — otherwise  she  would  not  give  me  admission. 
Accordingly,  in  the  course  of  that  week  I  was 
favoured  with  a  personal  interview  with  him  at  his 
house.  It  turned  out,  as  he  had  forewarned  me,  that 
the  servant  was  not  disposed  to  let  me  in ;  but  when 
I  told  her  that  I  had  come  at  Mr.  Irving's  request, 


EDWARD     IRVING.  17 

/ 

she  immediately  conducted  me  into  his  study.  Mrs. 
Irving,  who  seemed  an  agreeable  and  highly-intelli- 
gent lady,  was  sitting  with  him,  but  she  withdrew 
after  a  few  minutes,  and  we  were  left  alone  together. 
He  met  me  with  so  much  kindness,  that  I  had  not 
the  least  feeling  of  being  an  intruder,  notwithstand- 
ing what  he  had  told  me  about  his  manifold  engage- 
ments. He  was  familiar  and  affable  in  conversation, 
and  seemed  particularly  interested  to  learn  all  he 
could  about  the  religious  state  of  our  country.  He 
inquired  particularly  how  large  a  part  of  our  whole 
population  were  accustomed  to  sit  down  to  the 
Lord's  table  ;  and  observed  in  the  same  connexion, 
that  though  it  was  the  custom  in  the  Scotch  Church 
to  invite  all  to  the  ordinance,  not  more  than  one 
third  of  his  people  came,  and  that  none  were  ad- 
mitted without  previous  examination,  especially  as 
to  their  knowledge  to  discern  the  Lord's  body.  He 
complained  much  of  the  deficiency  in  point  of  doc- 
trine among  Cnurchmen  and  Dissenters,  English 
and  Scotch,  and  expressed  the  opinion  that  while 
the  Dissenters  and  Evangelical  Episcopalians  were 
the  most  spiritually-minded  men,  there  were  more 
able  divines  among  the  High  Church.  He  was  very 
inquisitive  in  regard  to  the  tone  of  theological  opin- 
ion in  the  United  States.  I  thought  I  could  see 
that  he  was  feeling  after  something  beyond  the  dif- 
erence  between  Old  and  New-school,  or  between  Cal- 
viuists  and  Arminians — that  he  was  trying  to  find 
out  whether  there  was  anybody  here  who  knew  or 


18  EDWARD     IRVING. 

cared  anything  about  his  hobby ;  though,  for  the  life 
of  me,  I  could  not  discover  what  his  hobby  was,  from 
his  conversation,  any  better  than  from  his  preach- 
ing. It  seemed  to  me  that,  after  he  had  got  every- 
thing from  me  he  could,  he  thought  that,  to  say  the 
least,  we  were  in  a  poor  way.  After  all,  he  seemed 
deeply  and  solemnly  impressed  with  the  great  in- 
terests of  religion.  I  could  not  doubt  that  there 
were  the  actings  of  a  genuine  faith,  and  of  a  truly 
humble  and  devout  spirit,  amidst  some  of  the  wild- 
est religious  demonstrations  that  I  had  ever  wit- 
nessed. 

After  sitting  with  him  perhaps  an  hour,  I  rose  to 
come  away,  when  he  said  to  me,  "  Stop  one  mo- 
ment, if  you  please,"  and  then  offered,  in  tones  the 
most  affectionate  and  melting,  the  following  prayer : 
"Thou  Saviour,  who  boldest  the  stars  in  thy  right 
hand,  take  this,  my  brother,  under  thy  special  care  ; 
be  thou  his  guide,  his  strength,  his  consolation,  and 
his  salvation.  Let  his  preaching  be  accompanied  by 
the  power  of  God  ;  and  let  those  to  whom  he  min- 
isters be  found  among  the  saved.  Do  thou  confirm 
his  health ;  watch  over  him  as  he  prosecutes  his 
homeward  journey ;  carry  him  safely  to  his  friends 
and  his  flock  ;  honour  him  with  a  long  and  useful 
ministry  ;  and  take  to  thyself  all  the  glory."  He 
then  gave  me  his  hand,  and  we  parted.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  touching  and  patriarchal  scenes  with 
which  I  had  ever  anything  to  do. 

Everybody   knows    that    Edward    Irving's    singular 


EDWARD     IRVING.  19 

character  and  history  have  given  occasion  to  much 
speculation.  There  are  not  wanting  those  who  be- 
lieve that  he  was  originally  a  mere  actor,  practising1 
upon  the  credulity  of  the  people,  and  that  God,  in 
judgment,  gave  him  up  to  the  delusion  which  he 
had  thus  courted.  I  heard  just  that  opinion  ex- 
pressed concerning  him  by  one  of  the  most  eminent 
divines  of  Scotland,  now  living — a  man,  too,  who 
claimed  to  have  had  opportunities  for  extensive  ob- 
servation upon  both  his  earlier  and  later  develop- 
ments. But  such,  I  believe,  is  not  the  more  com- 
mon opinion.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  his  his- 
tory is  a  most  monitory  one,  and  supplies  the  strong- 
est arguments  to  all  the  ministers  of  Christ  to 
cultivate  perfect  Christian  simplicity. 


II. 


T  COULD  not  feel  willing  to  pass  even  my  first 
Sabbath  in  London  without  hearing  the  celebrat- 
ed EOWLAND  HILL  ;  and  a  greater  transition  than 
there  was  from  the  splendid  reveries  of  Irving,  to 
whom  I  had  listened  in  the  morning,  to  the  simple, 
colloquial,  and  yet  majestic  performance  of  Hill, 
whom  I  heard  in  the  evening,  it  is  not  easy  to  im- 


agine. 


I  set  out,  in  what  I  supposed  was  good  season,  to 
find  my  way  to  Surrey  Chapel ;  and  after  crossing 
Blackfriar's  Bridge,  and  travelling  a  good  distance 
beyond,  I  at  length  reached  the  place.  It  was  an 
immense  building,  I  think  of  an  octagonal  form,  of 
a  highly  primitive  and  venerable  appearance.  As  J 
passed  into  the  vestibule,  I  found  that  the  lower 
door  opening  into  the  audience-room  was  not  only 
closed  but  fastened,  so  that  I  had  little  hope  of 
gaining  admission.  I,  however,  immediately  ascended 
a  flight  of  stairs  which  led  to  the  gallery,  and  wus 


ROWLAND     HILL.  21 

met  at  the  door  by  one  of  the  officials,  who  took  me 
in  charge,  and,  not  without  great  difficulty,  procured 
for  me  an  excellent  seat,  almost  immediately  in 
front  of  the  pulpit. 

As  I  entered  the  house,  the  congregation  were 
singing  from  a  collection  of  hymns  of  which  Kow- 
land  Hill  was  the  compiler ;  and  a  part  of  the 
church  service  had  previously  been  read  by  a  young 
clergyman,  who  was  still  sitting  in  the  desk,  dressed 
in  his  canonicals.  When  the  singing  was  nearly 
closed,  Mr.  Hill  walked  into  the  pulpit,  in  the  full 
Episcopal  habit,  and  with  an  air  of  majesty  that 
I  have  rarely  seen  equalled,  and  never  surpassed. 
He  was  a  large,  well-proportioned  man,  though  some- 
what inclined  to  corpulency,  with  a  fine  head  and 
face,  and  an  intelligent  and  bland  expression ;  and 
when  he  sat  down,  I  perceived  that  he  breathed 
with  difficulty,  as  if  he  were  oppressed  with  the 
asthma,  which  I  afterwards  ascertained  was  really 
the  case.  At  the  close  of  the  singing,  he  offered  a 
short  prayer,  which  was  remarkable  for*  its  sim- 
plicity and  originality ;  there  was  evidently  a  child- 
like spirit  associated  with  a  vigorous  and  comprehen- 
sive intellect.  When  he  began  to  preach,  his  diffi- 
culty of  respiration  was  so  great  that  it  seemed  to 
me  scarcely  possible  that  he  should  get  along  with 
any  comfort  either  to  himself  or  his  audience  ;  but 
the  difficulty  became  less  as  he  proceeded,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  he  had  conquered  it  altogether. 
I  had  heard  so  much*  all  my  life  of  his  eccentricity, 


22  ROWLAND     HILL. 

that  I  was  prepared  to  hear  a  sermon  that,  in  some 
parts  at  least,  would  impose  rather  a  heavy  tax  upon 
my  gravity ;  but  in  this  respect  I  was  disappointed. 
With  the  exception  of  a  single  sentence,  which 
made  it  a  little  difficult  for  me  to  command  my  risi- 
bles,  there  was  nothing  in  the  sermon  which  the 
most  fastidious  could  have  considered  as  of  even 
questionable  propriety.  While  there  was  not  the 
semblance  of  elaboration  about  it,  it  contained  a 
great  amount  of  evangelical  truth,  in  a  form  which 
need  not  have  offended  a  cultivated  taste,  but  which 
was  yet  perfectly  level  to  the  humblest  capacity. 
He  spoke  with  due  deliberation,  but  never  hesitated 
for  a  word,  and  seemed  to  have  the  right  word  al- 
always  at  command.  His  voice  was  clear,  full,  and 
commanding,  his  enunciation  perfectly  distinct,  his 
attitudes  simple  and  natural,  his  gestures  always 
pertinent  but  not  very  abundant,  and  his  whole  ap- 
pearance, bating  his  canonicals,  such  as  might  well 
have  become  a  general  at  the  head  of  an  army. 
His  discourse  was  very  much  of  an  experimental 
character,  and  showed  a  heart  evidently  glowing  with 
the  fervour  of  evangelical  piety.  He  commanded  the 
most  fixed  attention  from  an  audience  which,  I  sup- 
pose, must  have  consisted  of  between  three  and  four 
thousand  persons. 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  I  followed  him  into 
the  vestry,  and  delivered  to  him  an  introductory  let- 
ter from  a  clergyman  in  this  country,  who  had  made 
his  acquaintance  a  few  months  before.  To  my  sur- 


ROWLAND     HILL.  *23 

prise  and  mortification  I  found  that  lie  had  no  rec- 
ollection of  the  person  who  had  given  me  the  let- 
ter ;  but  he  immediately  relieved  me  from  all  em- 
barrassment, by  saying  that  he  was  very  happy  to 
see  me — -just  as  much  so  as  if  he  had  had  a  better 
memory.  As  I  knew  he  was  fatigued,  I  remained  in 
the  vestry  but  a  few  moments,  though,  before  leav- 
ing him,  I  accepted  an  invitation  to  breakfast  with 
him  the  next  morning.  I  went  accordingly,  and  spent 
an  hour  or  two  with  him,  much  to  my  satisfaction. 
When  he  introduced  me  to  Mrs.  Hill,  who  seemed 
to  be  a  fine,  genial  old  lady,  I  could  not  but  think 
of  the  anecdote  of  her  having  fallen  asleep  in 
church,  under  her  husband's  preaching,  and  his  call- 
ing out  to  somebody  to  wake  up  that  man,  lest  his 
snoring  should  wake  up  Mrs.  Hill.  It  is  said  that 
he  used  to  allude  to  her  pretty  often  in  his  preach- 
ing, and  sometimes  in  a  way  that  she  did  not  par- 
ticularly relish. 

I  breakfasted  with  him  once  or  twice  afterwards, 
and  always  found  him  full  of  witticisms  and  an- 
ecdotes, though  he  never  failed  to  exhibit  more  or 
less  of  evangelical  unction.  Both  he  and  Matthew 
Wilks,  who  was,  in  some  respects,  very  like  him, 
were  regarded  as  privileged  characters,  and  were  al- 
lowed to  say  things  with  impunity,  which  would 
have  subjected  almost  anybody  else  to  severe  repre- 
hension. For  instance,  one  morning  when  I  visited 
him,  he  came  limping  into  the  room,  in  consequence 
of  a  bad  corn  upon  one  of  his  feet ;  and  he  said,  in 


24  ROWLAND     HILL. 

a  half-impatient,  half-jocose  manner,  "I  suppose  you 
haven't  anybody  in  America  who  wants  to  take 
a  good,  smart,  aching  corn.  I  would  not  care  much 
if  I  could  clap  it  on  to  some  heretical  parson's 
tongue."  I  soon  found  that  he  was  a  great  friend 
to  our  country,  and  had  the  highest  expectations  of 
the  part  she  is  to  bear  in  bringing  about  the  moral 
renovation  of  the  world.  He  said  that  he  always 
took  sides  with  us  during  our  Revolution ;  that  he 
felt  that  our  cause  was  a  righteous  one,  and  never 
doubted  that  we  should  succeed.  He  expressed 
the  highest  admiration  of  President  Edwards,  and 
seemed  to  think  he  had  rendered  more  important 
service  to  the  cause  of  evangelical  truth  than  almost 
any  other  man  the  world  had  seen ;  and  added,  that 
if  he  must  have  a  pope,  he  should  like  just  such  a 
man  !  Speaking  of  kings,  he  said  that  he  had  no 
idea  that  they  had  any  divine  right  to  play  the 
devil.  When  I  remarked  to  him  that  I  had  been 
present,  a  few  days  before,  at  a  large  clerical  meet- 
ing in  London,  where  an  hour  or  two  was  spent  in 
drinking  toasts,  and  that  I  had  never  witnessed  the 
same  thing  at  any  meeting  of  clergymen  in  my  own 
country,  he  replied,  "  It  is  a  foolish  practice  ;  and 
I  wish  you  would  take  it  along  with  you,  and  bury 
it  in  the  Atlantic  before  you  get  to  America."  One 
morning  when  I  breakfasted  with  him,  he  was  en- 
gaged to  preach,  at  eleven  o'clock,  some  fourteen 
miles  from  London ;  and  a  lady  was  to  send  her 
carriage  for  him  at  nine.  But  when  nine  o'clock 


ROWLAND     HILL.  25 

came,  no  carriage  had  arrived,  and  I  could  see  that 
he  was  becoming  a  little  impatient.  At  length  he 
exclaimed,  with  some  degree  of  spirit,  "Well,  she 
may  send  the  carriage  or  not  as  she  pleases  ;  but 
one  thing  I  know,  that  if  it  does  not  come,  I  shall 
not  go ;  for  as  for  taking  my  poor  old  sick  horse,  I 
will  do  no  such  thing,  for  he  has  done  much  more 
for  the  cause  of  Christ  than  many  of  our  bishops 
have."  The  carriage  at  length  came,  and  he  not 
only  fulfilled  his  appointment  for  the  morning,  but 
preached  nine  miles  from  London  on  his  return,  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon ;  and  in  London,  at 
Tottenham  Court  Koad  Chapel,  in  the  evening.  I 
attended  the  evening  service,  and  found  a  thronged 
house,  and  the  preacher  seemed  just  as  vigourous 
and  fresh  as  if  his  faculties  had  not  been  tasked  at 
all  during  the  day.  He  told  me  that  upon  an 
average,  he  preached  about  seven  times  a  week,  be- 
sides having  much  of  his  time  taken  up  with  public 
engagements,  though  he  had  then  reached  the  age 
of  eighty-three,  and  had  been  in  the  ministry  sixty- 
four  years  ;  and  when  I  took  my  final  leave  of  him, 
he  said :  "  Kemember  me  kindly  to  any  of  my 
friends  you  may  meet  in  America,  and  tell  them  I 
have  not  quite  done  yet."  Much  of  his  conversa- 
tion, while  I  was  with  him,  turned  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  It  was  not  long 
after  the  terrible  struggle  of  the  Greeks ;  and  he 
seemed  to  want  language  in  which  to  convey  ad- 
equately his  sympathy  for  them,  or  his  abhorrence 


26  ROWLAND     HILL. 

of  the  characters  of  their  persecutors.  He  gave  me 
a  copy  of  his  Village  Dialogues,  with  a  most  charac- 
teristic inscription  by  his  own  hand. 

I  have  never  seen  another  man  to  whom  Kowland 
Hill  could,  on  the  whole,  be  likened.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  baronet,  and  there  was  nobility  impressed 
upon  his  whole  appearance,  and  bearing,  and  char- 
acter ;  and  yet  no  man  laboured  more  zealously  than 
he  for  the  improvement  of  the  humbler  classes.  He 
had  an  exuberance  of  wit  and  fun,  and  yet  it  was 
evident  that  he  lived  almost  constantly  amidst  the 
realities  of  the  future.  He  was  gentle,  and  mild, 
and  winning,  and  yet,  when  occasion  required,  he 
could  come  down  like  a  thunder-bolt,  or  an  ava- 
lanche. He  was  one  of  the  few  original  characters 
that  appear  in  an  age,  and  he  performed  a  most 
important  mission  ;  but  whoever  should  attempt  to 
imitate  him  would  be  sure  to  come  out  a  finished 
specimen  of  the  absurd  and  ridiculous. 


III. 


Tl/TATTHEW  WILKS  belonged  to  the  same  school 
of  preachers  with  Kowland  Hill ;  and  yet  there 
were  some  striking  points  of  difference  between 
them.  They  were  unlike  in  their  origin  and  edu- 
cation. Hill  was  of  noble  descent,  and  was  a 
graduate  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge  ;  whereas 
Wilks  was  of  an  obscure  family,  and  had  the  most 
common  advantages  for  early  culture.  Hill's  man- 
ners were  the  manners  of  the  court — there  was  no 
society  in  which  he  could  have  been  placed,  so  high, 
or  so  polished,  but  that  his  presence  would  have 
befitted  and  graced  it ;  but  Wilks  was  exceedingly 
plain,  not  to  say  coarse  and  clownish  in  his  habits, 
and  you  might  easily  have  mistaken  him  for  a 
day-labourer  in  the  street.  Hill's  mind  was  more 
highly  cultivated,  but  Wilks'  intellect  was  probably 
stronger — certainly  he  was  more  sagacious  and  far- 
seeing.  They  labored  side  by  side — the  one  in  Sur- 
rey Chapel,  the  other  alternately  in  Tottenham 


28  MATTHEW     WILKS. 

Court  Chapel  and  in  the  Tabernacle — for  about 
half  a  century.  Both  were  eminently  blessed  in 
their  labours ;  both  were  highly  gifted  and  eccentric 
men ;  both  enjoyed,  through  a  long  life,  an  unsul- 
lied reputation ;  and  the  memories  of  both  are  still 
.deeply  embalmed  in  the  affection  and  gratitude  of 
-  'thousands. 

As  I  had  gone  from  Paris  to  London,  I  had 
taken  with  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Matthew 
Wilks  from  his  son,  the  Kev.  Mark  Wilks,  who  has 
spent  a  considerable  part  of  his  life  in  France.  I 
reached  London  on  Saturday  afternoon ;  and,  as  I 
found  my  lodgings  were  not  very  distant  from  Mr. 
Wilks'  residence,  I  determined  to  call  and  deliver 
my  letter  to  him  before  the  Sabbath.  In  the  course 
of  the  evening  I  found  my  way  to  his  dwelling  ; 
but  was  told  by  the  servant  at  the  door  that  Mr. 
Wilks  was  not  well,  and  besides,  that  he  was  not 
accustomed  to  see  company  except  before  ten  in  the 
morning.  As  I  handed  the  letter  to  the  servant, 
and  mentioned  that  it  was  from  Mr.  Wilks  of  Paris, 
he  asked  me  to  stop  until  he  had  had  time  to  de- 
liver it ;  and  in  a  moment  he  returned,  and  request- 
ed me  to  walk  into  Mr.  Wilks'  study.  I  found  the 
old  gentleman  sitting  at  his  ease,  in  an  immense 
plaid  gown,  with  an  old-fashioned  cap,  and  every- 
thing about  his  dress  marking  him  as  a  piece  of 
venerable  antiquity.  The  reception  which  he  gave 
me  was  in  the  highest  degree  cordial  and  affection- 
ate. After  inquiring  about  my  health,  which  was 


MATTHEW     WILKS.  29 

then  indifferent,  and  about  his  son  at  Paris,  he 
began  immediately  to  talk  in  quite  an  enthusiastic 
tone  about  my  country ;  and  remarked,  among  other 
things,  that  he  had  not  a  doubt  that  she  was  des- 
tined to  be  the  mistress  of  the  world.  I  think  he 
told  me  that  he  was  then  eighty  years  old  ;  but  he 
had  preached  regularly  every  Sabbath  until  a  few 
weeks  before,  when  he  was  overtaken  with  a  some- 
what severe  illness,  from  which  he  was  at  that  time 
only  beginning  to  recover.  I  saw  him  but  once  after 
this  interview,  and  saw  nothing  in  him  then  to  vary 
the  impression  in  respect  to  him,  which  I  received 
at  first.  He  seemed  to  me  unpolished,  but  kind, 
shrewd,  and  deeply  interested  in  everything  that 
had  a  bearing  on  the  interests  of  true  religion. 

I  am  satisfied,  however,  that  I  did  not  at  all  get 
to  the  bottom  of  his  character.  I  should  have 
judged  that  he  was  capable  of  being  somewhat 
blunt  and  unceremonious  ;  but  I  saw  nothing  to  in- 
dicate that  terrible  power  of  sarcasm  which  consti- 
tuted, perhaps,  his  most  striking  characteristic.  I 
heard  a  number  of  anecdotes,  said  to  be  well 
authenticated,  respecting  him,  which  will,  perhaps, 
give  a  better  idea  of  one  part  of  his  character 
than  I  can  convey  in  any  other  way.  One  or  two 
of  them,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  seem  hardly  con- 
sistent with  due  reverence  for  the  Word  of  God. 

There  was  nothing  for  which  he  had  a  more  cor- 
dial abhorrence  than  any  exhibition  of  dandyism  in 
ministers ;  and  nothing  of  this  kind  ever 


30  MATTHEW     WILKS. 

came  in  contact  with  him  without  meeting  a  re- 
buke. On  one  occasion,  a  young  minister,  of  a  good 
deal  of  pretension  and  parade,  went  from  the  coun- 
try to  London,  and  carried  Mr.  Wilks  a  letter,  de- 
signed to  procure  for  him  an  invitation  to  preach. 
"Well,  young  man,"  said  Matthew,  with  a  nasal 
twang  that  is  perfectly  indescribable,  but  which  no- 
body who  has  -heard  it  can  ever  forget,  "Well, 
young  man,  you  want  to  preach  —  you  want  to 
preach  in  London,  don't  you  ?"  "  I  am  gtfing  to 
pass  a  few  days  here,  Sir,  and  if  it  should  suit  Mr. 
Wilks'  convenience,  I  should  be  very  happy  to  give 
his  people  a  sermon,  while  I  am  here."  "Well," 
replied  Matthew,  "  you  can  preach — you  can  preach  ; 
come  along  next  Wednesday  morning  to  the  Taber- 
nacle, and  I'll  meet  you  there,  and  you  can  take 
my  lecture  for  that  morning."  The  young  man 
agreed  to  do  so,  and  was  on  the  spot  at  the  ap- 
pointed hour.  Matthew  met  him  at  the  door,  dis- 
gusted, as  he  had  been  before,  with  his  dandy  airs, 
and  addressed  him  thus  :  "Go  along  into  the  pul- 
pit, young  man,  and  I  shall  sit  below  and  look  at 
you,  and  hear  every  word  you  say."  The  young 
preacher  darted  through  the  aisle  into  the  pulpit, 
in  a  manner  that  seemed  better  to  befit  a  ball- 
room than  a  place  of  worship.  He  performed  the 
introductory  service  with  an  air  of  insufferable  self- 
complacency,  and  in  due  time  opened  the  Bible,  and 
read  his  text,  which  was  the  last  verse  of  the  first 
chapter  of  the  Gospel  by  John — "  Hereafter  ye  shall 


MATTHEW     WILKS.  31 

see  Heaven  open,  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  Man/'  He  had 
written  his  sermon,  and  committed  it  all  to  mem- 
ory, as  he  supposed,  to  a  word  ;  but  unfortunately 
had  left  his  manuscript  behind  him.  "When  he  had 
read  his  text,  he  found  it  impossible  to  recall  the 
first  sentence.  He  hesitated  and  hemmed,  and  be- 
gan thus — "You  perceive,  my  brethren — you  per- 
ceive— that  the  angels  of  God — are  here  repre- 
sented— as  ascending — and  descending."  He  then 
set  up  a  good  stout  cough,  in  the  hope  that  his 
memory  might  get  to  work  in  the  mean  time  ;  but 
the  cough  was  as  unproductive  as  it  was  artificial, 
and  he  could  do  nothing  but  go  right  over  again 
with  the  absurd  sentence  with  which  he  had  started. 
He  coughed  again  and  again,  but  his  memory  was 
in  too  profound  a  slumber  to  be  awakened  by  it. 
After  three  or  four  minutes,  during  which  he  was 
a  spectacle  to  the  congregation,  and  especially  to 
Matthew,  who  was  all  the  time  watching  and  listen- 
ing, according  to  his  promise,  he  shut  up  his  Bible 
in  perfect  consternation,  and  abruptly  closed  the 
service.  Of  course  he  came  out  of  the  pulpit  with 
a  very  different  air  from  that  with  which  he  en- 
tered it.  But  the  worst  was  yet  to  come — he  had 
to  meet  Matthew,  and  hear  his  scathing  com- 
ments. "Well,  well,"  said  he,  "young  man,  you've 
preached — you  've  preached  in  London — ha'nt  you  ? 
I  've  heard  you ;  I  've  heard  every  word  you  've 
said,  and  I've  only  one  comment  to  make — if  you 


32  MATTHEW     WILKS. 

had  ascended  as  you  descended,  then  you  might 
have  descended  as  you  ascended."  It  is  needless 
to  say,  that  the  young  man  was,  by  this  time,  cured 
of  his  ambition  for  preaching  in  the  Tabernacle. 

Another  young  minister,  of  a  similar  character, 
paid  him  a  visit,  and  Matthew  observed  that  he 
sported  what  he  thought  a  very  indecent  number  of 
watch-seals.  He  eyed  them  for  some  time,  as  if 
scrutinizing  the  material  of  which  they  were  made, 
and  then  said,  with  a  terribly  sarcastic  air — "  It 
seems  to  me  that  you  Ve  a  good  many  seals  to  your 
ministry,  considering  how  young  you  are." 

He  was  once  preaching  on  some  public  occasion, 
when  there  were  not  less  than  fifty  persons  in  the 
congregation  taking  notes  of  his  sermon.  At  length 
he  stopped  suddenly  for  a  minute,  and  the  stenog- 
raphers having  nothing  to  do,  all  looked  up,  arid 
were  gazing  at  him  with  astonishment.  "  Behold," 
said  he,  "how  I've  confounded  the  scribes  !" 

On  one  occasion,  as  he  was  on  his  way  to  a  meet- 
ing of  ministers,  he  got  caught  in  a  shower,  near 
the  place  called  Billingsgate,  where  there  was  a 
large  number  of  women  dealing  in  fish,  who  were 
using  the  most  vulgar  and  profane  language.  As  he 
had  stopped  under  a  shed  in  the  midst  of  them,  he 
felt  himself  called  upon  at  least  to  leave  with  them 
his  testimony  against  their  wickedness.  "  Don't  you 
think,"  said  he,  speaking  with  the  greatest  delibera- 
tion and  solemnity,  "don't  you  think  that  I  shall 
appear  as  a  swift  witness  against  you  at  the  judg- 


MATTHEW     WILKS.  33 

ment  ?"  "  I  presume  so,"  said  one,  "  for  the  great- 
est rogues  always  turn  State's  evidence  \"  Mat- 
thew, when  he  got  to  the  meeting  of  ministers, 
related  the  incident.  "And  what  did  you  say,  Mr. 
Wilks,  in  reply  ?"  asked  one  of  the  ministers  pres- 
ent. "  What  could  I  ?"  was  the  characteristic  an- 
swer. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  with  so  much  of  eccen- 
tricity, operating,  too,  sometimes  in  a  way  that 
seemed  actually  irreverent,  he  should  still  have  been 
one  of  the  most  useful  ministers  of  his  day.  But 
that  such  was  the  case,  admits  of  no  question.  His 
preaching,  though  abounding  with  anecdote,  and 
never  rising  above  the  most  colloquial  style,  and 
often  producing  something  much  above  a  smile  on 
the  countenances  of  his  audience,  was,  nevertheless, 
strongly  evangelical,  and  admirably  fitted  to  reach 
the  conscience.  He  was  also  one  of  the  most  be- 
nevolent of  men.  Numerous  anecdotes  are  related 
of  him,  that  show  how  literally  he  imitated  his 
Master's  example  in  going  about  doing  good.  Few 
ministers,  it  is  believed,  have,  at  any  period,  been 
instrumental  of  the  salvation  of  so  many  souls,  or 
contributed  so  much  to  further  the  cause  of  evan- 
gelical truth  and  piety. 


IV. 


ITIHEKE  was  scarcely  any  book  whose  title-page 
at  least  was  more  familiar  to  me,  from  my  earli- 
est childhood,  than  BURDER'S  VILLAGE  SERMONS  ;  and 
there  were  few  people  in  London  whom  I  was  more 
desirous  of  seeing,  than  the  venerable  author  of  it. 
It  happened,  very  fortunately  for  me,  that  I  had 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  his  son,  the  Kev.  Dr. 
Henry  Forster  Burder ;  and,  as  he  was  ready  to 
oblige  me  in  everything,  so  he  seemed  more  than 
willing  to  procure  for  me  the  gratification  of  see- 
ing his  excellent  father.  Accordingly,  he  made  an 
engagement  with  the  old  gentleman,  who  then  re- 
sided with  another  son — an  eminent  physician,  in 
London — that  we  would  take  tea  with  him  on  a  par- 
ticular evening ;  and  then  it  was  that  I  had  one 
of  the  only  two  interviews  with  him  with  which  I 
was  favoured. 

He  was   at  that  time    seventy-six    years   of   age. 
He  had  lost  entirely  the  sight  of  one  eye,  and  the 


GEORGE     BURDER.  35 

other  was  so  materially  affected  tliat  lie  seemed  to 
think  it  more  than  possible  that  he  might  close  his 
life  in  total  blindness.  His  countenance  was  ex- 
pressive at  once  of  mildness  and  decision  ;  and  his 
manners  were  as  gentle,  and  his  spirit  apparently 
as  meek,  as  I  should  have  expected  to  find  in  "the 
disciple  whom  Jesus  loved."  He  told  me  that  he 
was  a  native  of  London,  as  was  his  father  and  his 
grandfather  before  him ;  that  in  the  early  part  of 
his  ministry  he  was  settled  at  Coventry,  but  for  the 
twenty-six  years  then  just  past,  he  had  been  pas- 
tor of  the  church  in  Fetter  Lane,  of  which  his 
father  was  long  a  deacon,  and  in  which  he  was  him- 
self baptized.  Notwithstanding  his  infirmities,  he 
was  still  able  to  share  equally  with  his  colleague 
the  services  of  the  Sabbath ;  and  I  think  I  had  it 
upon  good  authority,  that  his  discourses  were  at  that 
time  as  vigourous  in  thought  and  as  rich  in  unction 
as  ever.  He  talked  with  much  interest  of  many  of 
his  excellent  cotemporaries  in  the  ministry  who  had 
passed  away ;  but  of  no  one  did  he  speak  with  more- 
marked  respect  and  affection  than  of  the  celebrated 
William  Komaine,  who  was  for  a  long  time  one  of 
the  brightest  lights  in  the  evangelical  portion  of  the 
established  church.  This  venerable  man,  he  said, 
used  to  keep  a  list  of  those  clergymen  of  the  es- 
tablishment, in  and  about  London,  and  I  believe 
throughout  England,  who  sympathized  with  him  in 
his  views  of  Christian  truth  and  duty,  and  to  have 
it  before  him  in  his  private  devotions ;  and  that 


36  GEORGE     BURDER. 

he  lived  to  see  the  number  increased  from  three  or 
four  to  three  or  four  hundred.  One  of  the  number, 
when  it  was  the  smallest,  was  a  Mr.  Jones,  of  whom 
Mr.  Burder  told  me  this  anecdote — Mr.  Jones  had 
a  college  classmate,  who  entered  the  ministry  at  the 
same  time  with  himself,  but  was  a  mere  man  of 
the  world,  and  knew  little,  and  cared  nothing,  about 
the  true  Gospel.  This  man  conversing  one  day 
with  Mr.  Jones,  said  to  him  half-jocosely,  half- 
seriously,  "Why  is  it  that  you  are  so  popular  as 
a  preacher,  and  so  few  come  to  hear  me,  when 
everybody  knows  that  at  the  university  I  was  con- 
sidered greatly  your  superior  ?"  "  Why,"  said  Mr. 
Jones,  "the  reason  is  that  I  preach  the  Gospel." 
u  The  Gospel,"  said  the  other,  "  so  do  I ;  almost 
every  text  I  preach  upon  is  from  Matthew,  Mark, 
Luke,  or  John."  Said  Mr.  Jones,  "  You  may  do  that, 
and  yet  never  preach  Jesus  Christ."  "Well,"  said 
the  other,  "lend  me  one  of  your  sermons,  and  see 
what  effect  it  will  have."  He  actually  did  lend 
him  one,  and  he  preached  it  as  he  had  engaged  to 
do ;  and  as  he  was  coming  out  of  the  church  at 
the  close  of  the  service,  he  was  accosted  by  a  man 
who,  in  listening  to  the  borrowed  discourse,  had 
been  thrown  into  a  state  of  deep  anxiety  in  respect 
to  his  salvation.  Says  the  minister,  somewhat  con- 
fused by  the  strange  result  of  his  preaching, 
"  Wait,  wait ;  say  nothing  about  it  till  the  people 
have  all  gone  out."  After  the  congregation  had- 
retired,  the  anxious  inquirer  began  further  to  ex- 


GEORGE     BUKDER.  3T 

plain  himself,  when  the  clergyman  interrupted  him 
by  saying — "  But  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  I 
see  no  occasion  for  your  making  yourself  unhappy." 
"  Matter,"  replied  he  ;  "  why  your  preaching  has 
made  me  feel  like  a  condemned  criminal,  and  I  fear 
there  is  no  mercy  for  me."  "  Well,  really,"  said  the 
minister,  "I  am  very  sorry  that  I  have  wounded 
your  feelings — I  had  no  intention  of  doing  it ;  but 
since  you  have  got  into  this  uncomfortable  state,  I 
advise  you  to  go  and  see  Mr.  Jones." 

I  had  another  interview  with  Mr.  Burder  after 
this,  in  which  he  showed  me  several  curious  manu- 
scripts, among  which  were  a  number  of  sermons  of 
the  Henrys  (Philip  and  Matthew),  and  a  few  lines 
written  by  Kichard  Baxter  in  a  Bible  which  I  think 
once  belonged  to  a  pulpit  in  which  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  preach.  Mr.  Burder  had,  for  many  years, 
in  connexion  with  his  pastoral  engagements,  held 
the  office,  and  faithfully  discharged  the  duties,  of 
Secretary  to  the  London  Missionary  Society ;  and  it 
was  probably  in  this  latter  capacity  that  he  ren- 
dered his  most  important  services  to  the  church. 
Though,  on  account  of  his  bodily  infirmities,  his  con- 
nexion with  the  Society  had  ceased  some  time  be- 
fore I  saw  him,  it  was  manifest  that  his  interest  in 
the  missionary  cause  was  as  intense  as  ever.  While 
he  was  himself  a  Congregationalist,  and  was,  I  be- 
lieve, strongly  attached  to  Congregational  princi- 
ples and  usages,  he  embraced  in  his  Christian  re- 
gards and  sympathies  all,  of  whatever  name,  in  whom 


GEORGE     BURDER. 

he  recognized  the  image  of  Christ.  From  that  time 
he  declined  gradually,  and  within,  I  think,  two  or 
three  years,  he  was  gently  released  from  the  suffer- 
ings of  earth,  to  enter  into  his  final  rest.  I  con- 
gratulate myself  to  this  day  that  my  first  visit  to 
England  was  in  time  to  see  the  author  of  the  "  Vil- 
lage Sermons." 


V. 


I  am  not  sure  that  even  the  name  of 
WILLIAM  OKME  was  known  to  me  previous  to 
my  going  to  London,  I  found  that  he  was  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  of  the  Dissenting  ministers 
of  the  metropolis,  and  exerted  a  wide  influence  not 
only  as  a  preacher  but  as  an  author,  and  especially 
as  the  Foreign  Secretary  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society.  My  first  meeting  with  him  was  at  the  set- 
ting apart  (or  as  we  should  say — the  installation) 
of  the  Kev.  Henry  Townley,  as  pastor  of  the  church 
in  White  Row ;  on  which  occasion  Mr.  Orme  per- 
formed a  very  interesting  part  of  the  service.  He 
saved  me  the  trouble  of  seeking  an  introduction  to 
him,  by  coming  directly«to  me,  as  soon  as  he  knew 
that  I  was  in  the  house ;  and  he  invited  me  at 
once,  with  great  cordiality,  to  pass  some  time  with 
his  family  before  I  should  leave  the  country.  I  ac- 
cepted his  kind  invitation,  and  the  time  for  my  visit 
was  fixed  upon,  which  was  to  include  a  Sabbath. 


40  WILLIAM     ORME. 

Mr.  Orme  resided  at  Camberwell,  and  at  the  ap- 
pointed time  I  found  my  way  to  Ms  residence.  I 
met  at  dinner,  on  the  day  of  my  arrival,  Mr.  Favell, 
a  most  respectable  member  of  the  corporation  of 
the  city  of  London,  who,  I  was  informed,  had  it  not 
been  for  his  being  a  vigorous  Dissenter,  would  prob- 
ably, before  that  time,  have  been  chosen  Lord 
Mayor,  He  was  an  unassuming,  highly  intelligent 
man,  and  withal  was  an  active  member  and  deacon 
of  Mr.  Orme's  church.  He  had  much  to  say  of  the 
Eevolution  that  terminated  in  American  independ- 
ence, and  unhesitatingly  pronounced  our  cause,  dur- 
ing that  conflict,  a  righteous  one.  And  then  he 
added  that,  though  the  war  of  1812  was  unpopular 
in  Great  Britain,  it  had  at  least  served  to  convince 
the  British  that  the  Americans  could  measure 
swords  with  them ;  and  that  it  had  actually  done 
much  to  lower  the  tone  of  British  vaunting  in  re- 
spect to  their  national  superiority. 

I  passed  the  Sabbath  with  Mr.  Orme,  and  had 
the  pleasure  of  hearing  him  preach  one  part  of  the 
day.  His  sermon  was  on  the  text,  "Every  man 
shall  bear  his  own  burden."  I  cannot  say  that  it 
was  a  particularly  striking  performance,  and  yet  it 
was  full  of  weighty  thoughts  well  arranged,  and  was 
delivered  with  a  distinct  voice,  with  a  good  degree 
of  animation,  and  with  great  simplicity.  It  was  his 
custom  not  to  write  his  sermons  at  length,  but, 
after  the  manner  of  the  English  Dissenters  gener- 
ally, at  that  time,  to  get  a  train  of  thoughts  fixed  in 


WILLIAMORME.  41 

his  mind,   and   then    trust  to  the   moment  for  the 

*  •» 

language.  His  occasional  sermons,  however,  he  was 
accustomed  to  write,  though,  I  believe,  some  that 
were  printed  were  not  written  till  after  the  deliv- 
ery. But  he  used  his  pen  abundantly  in  other 
fields  of  labour,  as  is  proved  by  the  various  im- 
portant works  which  he  sent  forth  during  his  min- 
istry. 

In  private,  he  was  at  once  most  agreeable  and 
instructive.  His  mind  seemed  deeply  exercised  in 
regard  to  the  political  as  well  as  religious  state  of 
Great  Britain ;  and  though  he  did  not  anticipate 
anything  like  a  revolution  at  an  early  period,  he 
thought  the  tendency  of  things  was  manifestly  in 
that  direction.  His  heart  was,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, fully  in  the  missionary  cause,  and  indeed 
his  official  labours,  in  that  department,  occupied  no 
small  portion  of  his  time.  But  he  had  evidently 
great  executive  power;  and  was  well  fitted  to  be 
the  master  mind  in  any  grand  operation.  His  coun- 
tenance bespoke  great  strength  of  character,  per- 
haps some  degree  of  sternness  ;  but  he  had  great 
kindness  and  tenderness  of  feeling.  He  related  to 
me  particularly  some  of  the  struggles  of  his  early 
life,  and  especially  the  overwhelming  affliction  which 
he  met  in  the  death  of  his  wife,  within  seven 
months  after  their  marriage ;  and  his  emotions  were 
too  strong  to  be  repressed.  He  left  me  with  the 
impression  that  he  was  adequate  to  any  emergency 
that  required  courage  and  decision,  while  yet  he  had 


42  WILLIAMOBME. 

only  to  let  nature  have  its  own  way,  to  "  weep  witl 
them  that  weep." 

Mr.  Orme  was  a  Scotchman  by  birth  and  educa- 
tion, and  if  I  remember  right,  was  born  in  the 
year  1787  ;  so  that,  when  I  saw  him,  he  must  have 
been  about  forty-one  years  of  age.  He  evinced 
strong  intellectual  tastes  at  an  early  period,  but  in 
consequence  of  adverse  circumstances,  particularly 
the  death  of  his  father,  he  was  unable  to  indulge 
them,  and  was  compelled  to  engage  in  active  busi- 
ness. His  mind  first  took  a  decided  religious  di- 
rection under  the  preaching  of  the  Kev.  James 
Haldane,  of  Edinburgh,  where  Orme's  family  then 
resided.  He  became  at  this  time  a  teacher*  in  a 
Sabbath-school,  and  his  occasional  addresses  to  the 
children  were  so  pertinent,  and  often  so  striking, 
that  the  Christians  with  whom  he  was  associated 
began  to  urge  him  to  devote  himself  to  the  minis- 
try of  the  Gospel.  It  was  of  all  things  what  he  de- 
sired the  most ;  and,  accordingly,  when  he  was  in 
his  nineteenth  year,  he  commenced  a  course  of  pre- 
paratory studies  in  an  institution  sustained  by 
Kobert  Haldane,  for  the  special  benefit  of  the  Scot- 
tish Independent  churches.  After  remaining  here 
but  a  single  year,  he  entered  on  the  duties  of  the 
ministry ;  and  his  first  settlement,  which  took  place 
in  the  year  1807,  was  at  Perth.  Having  laboured 
here  more  than  seventeen  years,  during  which  he 
had  a  varied,  and,  in  some  respects,  peculiar  experi- 
ence, he  went  to  London,  where  he  continued  during 


WILLIAM     ORME.  43 

the  residue  of  his  life.  His  death,  which  took  place 
about  two  years  -after  I  saw  him,  was  a  fine  illustra- 
tion of  the  power  of  Christian  principle,  and  a 
fitting  close  of  an  eminently  honoured  and  useful 
life. 


VI 


[~T  was  not  till  I  was  on  the  eye  of  leaving  Lon- 
don, that  I  ascertained  that  the  residence  of  this 
great  statesman  and  philanthropist  was  only  ahout 
ten  miles  distant ;  and  it  took  me  but  a  moment 
to  decide  that  I  would  not  leave  the  neighbourhood 
without  doing  my  utmost  to  obtain  an  interview 
with  him.  Accordingly,  having  procured  from  one 
of  his  friends  a  letter  of  introduction  to  him,  I  left 
London  early  one  morning,  with  my  friend  Mr. 
Joshua  Wilson,  (whose  kindness  towards  me  was 
unintermitted,  and  indeed  has  never  ceased  to  this 
day,)  to  secure,  if  possible,  the  desired  gratification. 
After  riding  more  than  an  hour  through  a  delightful 
and  highly-cultivated  region,  we  reached  Highwood, 
where  Mr.  WILBERFORCE  then  had  .his  residence. 
His  dwelling  was  a  large  stone  building,  situated 
on  a  delightful  eminence,  overlooking  a  fine  valley 
beneath ;  and  everything  around  it,  though  per- 
fectly simple,  showed  exquisite  taste  and  the  very 


WILLIAM     WILBEEFOECE.  45 

perfection  of  culture.  The  place  seemed  to  me 
quite  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  its  illustrious 
occupant. 

On  delivering  the  letter  to  the  servant  at  the 
door,  we  were  conducted  through  the  drawing-room, 
where  some  members  of  the  family  and  others  were 
sitting,  into  the  library,  where  we  were  requested  to 
stop  a  short  time  until  Mr.  Wilberforce  should  be 
ready  to  receive  us.  With  the  leave  of  the  librarian 
who  was  present,  we  amused  ourselves  by  looking 
into  some  of  the  books,  and  observing  the  notes 
which  Mr.  Wilberforce  had  made  with  his  pen  or 
pencil  in  reading  them.  This  was  particularly  true 
of  a  volume  of  Kobert  Hall,  of  whom  he  remarked 
that  he  did  not  believe  there  was  a  man  living  who 
possessed  finer  talents.  The  greater  part  of  the 
books  were  theological — the  productions  chiefly  of 
standard  English  writers  ;  and  not  a  few  of  them 
had  been  presented  by  the  authors  themselves.  Af- 
ter we  had  waited  nearly  half  an  hour,  Mr.  Wilber- 
force entered  the  room,  and  being  very  near-sighted, 
he  took  his  glass,  which  was  suspended  from  his 
neck,  and  looking  me  in  the  face,  asked  if  I  was 
the  gentleman  from  America ;  and,  on  being  an- 
swered in  the  affirmative,  he  gave  me  his  hand  in 
the  most  affectionate  manner,  and  welcomed  me  to 
the  country  and  to  his  house.  He  immediately 
said — "You  have  made  your  arrangements,  I  hope, 
to  spend  the  day  with  me  ?"  and  when  I  told  him 
that  I  had  engaged  to  dine  in  town,  he  added — 


46  WILLIAM     WILBERFORCE. 

"  Then  you  will  come  and  pass  some  other  day  with 
me  before  you  leave  the  neighbourhood."  I  told 
him  that  would  be  impossible,  as  my  arrangements 
for  leaving  in  a  day  or  two  were  definitely  made, 
and  it  would  be  very  inconvenient  for  me  then  to 
change  them.  He  expressed  great  astonishment  that 
I  should  go  so  soon,  and  went  into  quite  an  argu- 
ment with  me  to  induce  me  to  change  my  pur- 
pose. 

Mr.  Wilberforce's  personal  appearance  was  alto- 
gether peculiar.  He  was  small  in  stature,  extreme- 
ly rapid  in  his  movements,  very  near-sighted,  and 
crooked  almost  to  deformity.  I  can  hardly  say  what 
his  countenance  would  have  been  in  a  state  of  re- 
pose, for  I  think  I  had  no  opportunity  of  seeing  it 
in  that  state ;  but  in  conversation  it  seemed  per- 
fectly radiant  with  intelligence  and  benignity.  He 
soon  took  us  to  the  window  and  pointed  out  the 
beauties  of  the  surrounding  scenery,  in  which  nature 
and  art  seemed  both  to  have  done  their  utmost. 
He  then  directed  our  attention  to  a  likeness  of 
William  Pitt,  his  intimate  friend,  and  observed  that 
it  was  the  only  good  likeness  of  him  in  existence ; 
and  then  added  a  remark  or  two  which  led  me  to 
suppose  that  his  least  pleasant  recollections  of  Pitt 
had  respect  to  his  treatment  of  religion.  By  this 
time  he  rose  suddenly  from  his  chair  and  said — 
"Well,  I  am  wronging  my  family  in  the  other 
room  by  monopolizing  your  company ;"  and  imme- 
diately took  us  into  the  drawing-room,  where  we 


WILLIAM     WILBEBFOBCE.  47 

were  introduced  to  his  son  and  daughter,  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Sibthorp,  then  a  distinguished  Episcopal 
minister  in  London.  He  said  he  was  particularly 
desirous  to  make  me  acquainted  with  his  son  ;  that, 
if  I  should  visit  England  again,  though  he  should 
not  himself  probably  be  here  to  welcome  me,  his 
son  might  be,  and  he  knew  that  he  would  be  happy 
to  do  anything  for  me  in  his  power.  As  we  were 
sitting  in  the  drawing-room,  my  attention  was  at- 
tracted to  the  most  splendid  set  of  china  that  I 
ever  saw ;  and  Mr.  Wilberforce  perceiving  it,  took 
up  some  of  the  articles,  and  pointed  out  to  us  their 
peculiar  beauties  ;  observing  at  the  same  time  that 
it  was  of  foreign  manufacture.  When  I  inquired 
more  particularly  from  what  country  it  came,  he 
replied  very  modestly — "Why,  to  tell  the  truth,  it 
is  a  present  to  me  from  the  king  of  Prussia." 

After  stopping  perhaps  half  an  hour  with  his 
family  in  the  drawing-room,  he  asked  us  to  pass 
on  with  him  into  his  more  retired  apartment,  where 
he  was  accustomed  to  spend  the  greater  part  of 
his  time.  Here  he  had  another  part  of  his  library, 
and  particularly  his  periodical  publications,  which 
seemed  almost  innumerable.  Among  them  was  our 
Missionary  Herald,  of  which  he  spoke  in  terms  of 
high  praise.  He  remarked  that  we  had  a  very  clever 

man  in  our  country,  by  the   name   of  ,  who 

had  formerly  written  some  things  in  which  he  was 
deeply  interested ;  but  that  he  had  subsequently 
published  a  book  which  attacked  England  with  great 


48  WILLIAM     WILBEKFORCE. 

violence — fortunately,  however,  lie  said,  that    it   wag 
so    large   a    book,  and    so    closely   printed,    and    the 
English  withal  were  so  much  inclined  to  take  their 
ease,  that  it  never  got  into  circulation  among  them, 
and   therefore   never  did   any  hurt.      He   spoke  with 
great  reprobation  of  the  mutually  vituperative  spirit 
which    had,  to  some    extent,  existed  in  both    coun- 
tries ;  and  expressed  the  opinion  that  Adam  Hodg- 
son's travels  in  America  had  done  more  to  promote 
friendly  relations    between    the    two    countries   than 
perhaps    any   other  publication.      Mr.   Hodgson  was 
his    intimate    friend,   and   he   kindly   offered   me   an 
introductory  note    to    him,   which    I   thankfully  ac- 
cepted.    When  I  remarked  to  him  that   his  health 
seemed  more  vigorous  than  I  had  expected,  he  said 
he    had    great   reason   to  be   thankful  that   he   had 
such  a   measure   of   health ;    for  his    life   had   been 
little    else    than   a    struggle   with    disease    and    de- 
bility ;    and   Dr.  Warren,   one   of  the   most   eminent 
physicians  in  London,  had  told  him,  more  than  forty 
years    before,  that  he   had    not   stamina    enough  to 
last    a    fortnight.      He    mentioned    several    of    our 
American    divines  in  terms    of   very  high    respect ; 
particularly  Dr.  Mason,  with  whom  he  had  some  ac- 
quaintance, and  Dr.  Dwight,  whose  writings  seemed 
to   be   familiar  to   him.     I  was   glad  to   be   able   to 
tell  him  that   his  regard   for  Dr.  Dwight  was   most 
fully  reciprocated,  as  I  had   more   than   once  heard 
the  Doctor  mention  him  with   most  affectionate  re- 
spect in  his  lectures  to  his  pupils.      He   presented 


WILLIAM     WILBERFOECE.  49 

me  with  a  copy  of  his  "Practical  View,"  splendidly 
bound,  and  containing  a  very  kind  inscription  with 
his  own  hand ;  and,  as  he  gave  it  to  me,  he  re- 
marked that  it  was  a  book  which  he  wrote  many 
years  before — soon  after  it  pleased  God  to  open  his 
eyes,  and  bring  him  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  ; 
that  he  had  great  reason  to  be  thankful  that  it 
had  been  in  some  degree  useful ;  that  soon  after  it 
was  published  he  sent  a  copy  of  it  to  Burke,  who, 
in  acknowledging  it,  said  that  he  approved  it  most 
cordially.  In  reply  to  a  question  that  I  put  to  him 
concerning  Burke's  religious  character,  he  said  that 
though  he  had  reason  to  fear  that  he  was  not  a 
decidedly  pious  man,  yet  he  was  undoubtedly  one  of 
the  best  of  the  class  to  which  he  belonged.  After 
spending  the  morning  with  him,  we  took  our  leave  ; 
and  I  can  truly  say  that  I  never  parted  wi,th  a 
human  being  with  my  mind  more  filled  with  grate- 
ful and  reverential  recollections.  I  had  a  long  let- 
ter from  him  after  my  return  home,  which  I  treas- 
ure as  a  precious  memorial  of  one  of  the  noblest 
spirits  of  his  own  or  any  other  age. 

3 


VII. 


T  HAD  heard  much  of  Mr.  JAY  from  my  early 
childhood  ;  and  his  sermons  were  among  the  first 
that  I  ever  read.  Of  course,  when  I  crossed  the 
ocean,  I  had  a  great  interest  in  seeing  him  ;  and  I 
made  it  in  my  way  to  stop  a  day  or  two  in  Bath, 
in  order  to  procure  for  myself  this  gratification.  As 
I  had  letters  of  introduction  to  him  from  two  of 
his  particular  friends  in  London,  he  gave  me  not 
only  a  courteous  but  very  cordial  reception  ;  and  the 
impressions  which  I  had  received  concerning  him 
were  fully  justified  by  his  fine  person,  his  bland  and 
engaging  manner,  and  the  agreeable  and  elevated 
tone  of  his  conversation. 

I  should  think  him  rather  below  than  above  the 
middle  size  ;  and  in  his  countenance  there  was  so 
much  of  both  intelligence  and  benignity,  that  it 
was  difficult  to  say  which  had  the  preponderance. 
He  was  very  sociable,  and  yet  his  mode  of  talking 
was  quiet  and  gentle,  and  as  far  removed  as  pos- 


WILLIAMJAY.  51 

sible  from  any  thing  like  pretension.  As  I  talked 
with  him,  I  found  that  the  celebrated  preacher  was 
gradually  giving  place  to  the  kind  and  obliging 
friend ;  and  I  had  scarcely  spent  half  an  hour  in 
his  company,  before  every  idea  of  the  stranger  was 
gone,  and  I  felt  a  degree  of  freedom — certainly  not 
unmingled  with  reverence — which  might  very  well 
have  been  the  growth  of  years.  He  gave  me  a 
very  touching  account  of  his  children,  part  of  which 
was,  that  he  had  one  with  Christ,  three  in  Christ, 
and  two  near  Christ.  I  was  not  a  little  interested 
in  hearing  him  express  his  opinion  concerning  vari- 
ous distinguished  personages,  with  whom  he  had 
been  more  or  less  familiar.  I  found  that  he  had  a 
great  admiration  of  Kowland  Hill,  and  regarded  him 
as  having  been  of  one  the  brightest  lights  of  his 
generation  ;  and  I  happened  to  know,  I  think  from 
Rowland  Hill  himself,  that  the  regard  was  fully 
reciprocated.  Somebody  told  me  an  amusing  anec- 
dote about  Mr.  Jay's  writing  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hill 
in  his  characteristic  blind  hand,  which  Mr.  Hill 
found  it  hard  to  decypher.  His  reply  was,  that  he 
had  received  a  letter  that  seemed  to  bear  his  (Mr. 
Jay's)  signature,  and  if  it  meant  so  and  so,  so  and 
so  would  be  his  reply,  but,  if  it  was  something  else, 
his  answer  would  be  modified  accordingly ;  but  he 
concluded  by  advising  him,  whenever  he  had  occa- 
sion to  write  to  him  again,  to  use  a  gentleman's 
hand,  and  not  a  Jay's  claw.  Mr.  Jay  had  long  been 
on  intimate  terms  with  Wilberforce  and  Hannah 


52  WILLIAMJAY. 

More,  and  he  expressed  an  unbounded  reverence 
for  both  of  them ;  though  he  regretted  to  have 
heard  some  facts  which  led  him  to  suppose  that 
the  latter  had  become  more  stringent  in  her  denomi- 
national peculiarities  in  latter  years.  He  spoke  with 
deep  regret  of  the  utter  disregard  of  all  religion 
evinced  at  that  time  by  not  a  few  of  the  clergy  of 
the  Established  Church ;  though  there  were  many 
others  for  whom  he  entertained  the  profoundest  re- 
spect, as  evangelical,  excellent  men.  He  mentioned 
that  even  the  celebrated  Dr.  Parr  did  not  at  all 
scruple  at  an  irreverent  use  of  the  name  of  the  Su- 
preme Being ;  and  that,  on  one  occasion,  when  he 
was  dining  with  a  lady  of  a  serious  character,  and 
was  conversing  on  some  subject  that  required  him 
occasionally  to  speak  Greek,  the  lady  reproved  him  by 
saying,  "  Doctor,  I  wish,  for  the  sake  of  my  servants, 
that  you  would  talk  English,  and  swear  in  Greek." 

Mr.  Jay,  it  is  well  known,  was  indebted,  in  a 
great  measure,  for  his  training,  to  the  Kev.  Mr.  Win- 
ter, whose  life  and  character  he  has  so  graphically 
sketched.  He  talked  a  great  deal  about  him,  and 
in  a  manner  that  betokened  the  utmost  reverence, 
gratitude,  and  affection.  John  Newton,  too,  he  was 
well  acquainted  with ;  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
say,  that  Newton  and  Winter  were  the  two  .holi- 
est men  he  had  ever  met  with. 

I  found  that  he  was  a  mortal  enemy  to  preach- 
ing or  hearing  three  sermons  on  the  Sabbath.  "  The 
third/1  he  said,  "  batters  the  mind  rather  than  im- 


WILLIAMJAY.  53 

presses  it."  He  mentioned  that  when  he  was  in 
Scotland,  some  time  before,  Dr.  Chalmers  remarked 
to  him,  that  very  few  ministers,  who  were  likely  to 
be  of  much  use  to  the  world,  were  allowed  to  die 
a  natural  death  ;  that  they  were  killed  by  the  godly  ; 
that  they  would  go  and  stroke  their  heads,  and 
talk  to  them  about  the  loud  demand  in  Providence 
for  ministerial  labour  ;  and  in  that  way  the  devil  got 
rid  of  them  often  some  twenty  or  thirty  years  sooner 
than  he  would  have  done  otherwise. 

I  had  the  privilege  of  hearing  Mr.  Jay  preach,  but 
not  in  his  own  chapel.  It  so  happened  that  he  was 
engaged  to  preach  at  Bristol  the  same  Sabbath  that 
I  was  to  spend  there  ;  and,  indeed,  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  making  the  short  journey  from  Bath  to 
Bristol  in  his  company.  He  went  there  to  supply 
the  pulpit  of  a  clergyman  who  was  absent ;  if  I 
mistake  not,  it  was  the  celebrated  William  Thorpe. 
Though  Mr.  Jay  had  lived  so  long  quite  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Bristol,  and,  of  course,  must  have 
been  often  heard  there,  I  noticed  that  everybody 
seemed  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  hearing  him  ;  and 
as  the  house  was  crowded,  I  suspected  he  was  a 
good  deal  of  an  attraction.  His  manner  in  the  pul- 
pit was  a  beautiful  compound  of  simplicity,  dignity 
and  grace.  His  fine,  open,  beaming  face  ;  his  melo- 
dious voice  and  perfectly  distinct  articulation ;  his 
gesture,  as  unstudied  as  his  breathing ;  his  elevated 
and  yet  familiar  and  affectionate  style  of  address,  I 
confess,  gave  him  an  advantage  over  most  of  the 


54  WILLIAMJAY. 

excellent  speakers  whom  I  have  heard  on  either  side 
of  the  water.  Those  who  have  heard  the  late  Dr. 
Abbot,  of  Beverly,  preach,  have  witnessed  the  near- 
est approach  to  Jay's  manner  that  has  ever  come 
under  my  observation.  It  is  needless  for  me  to  de- 
scribe the  sermon  I  heard  from  him,  as  everybody 
knows  his  peculiar  style ;  and  besides,  the  outline 
of  the  sermon,  I  observe,  constitutes  one  of  his 
"  Morning  Exercises."  What  evidently  formed  one 
chief  element  of  his  power,  was  the  perfect  con- 
gruity  that  existed  between  his  matter  and  man- 
ner. It  seemed  to  me  that  every  sentence  was  ut- 
tered in  a  way  to  secure  to  it  the  highest  possible 
effect.  His  prayers,  though  as  simple  as  the  lan- 
guage of  childhood,  were  yet  so  rich  in  evangelical 
thought,  and  withal  so  beautiful  and  faultless  in 
expression,  that  it  was  difficult  for  me  to  believe 
that  they  had  not  been  elaborated  with  devout  care. 
I  have  heard  men  preach  who  gave  me  a  higher  idea 
of  force  of  intellect  than  Mr.  Jay ;  but  in  the  class 
of  preachers  to  which  he  belonged,  I  believe  it  is 
generally  acknowledged  that  he  was  without  a  rival. 

Probably  no  clergyman,  on  either  side  of  the 
water,  enjoyed,  during  the  same  period,  a  higher 
degree  of  popularity  than  William  Jay.  His  remark- 
able attractions  were  acknowledged  in  the  Estab- 
lished Church  as  well  as  out  of  it ;  and  his  works, 
which  are  based  on  the  broadest  principles  of  evangel- 
ical Catholicism,  seem  to  have  Diet  an  equally  cordial 
welcome  among  Christians  of  every  communion. 


VIII, 


AND 


HPHEKE  was  a  good  deal  in  the  way  of  intellectual 
and  literary  distinction  in  Bristol  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood, to  render  a  visit  there  desirable  to  me ; 
but  the  chief  attraction,  I  must  acknowledge,  was 
EGBERT  HALL.  My  attention  was  first  directed  to 
his  works,  when  I  was  in  college,  by  hearing  Dr. 
Dwight  say,  that  his  sermons  on  Infidelity  were  the 
brightest  gem  in  the  literature  of  the  English  pul- 
pit ;  and  such  had  always  been  my  admiration  of 
him,  that  I  took  good  care  that  none  of  the  pro- 
ductions of  his  pen  should  escape  me.  And  when 
I  found  myself  within  about  a  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  of  him,  (for  that  is  the  distance  from  London 
to  Bath,)  I  resolved  that  it  should  not  be  for  the 
want  of  the  requisite  pains,  if  I  should  leave  Eng- 
land without  seeing  and  hearing  him. 

I  reached  Bristol  some  time  on  Saturday,  and  the 
most  important  point  which  I  had  to  settle  on  my 


56  ROBERT     HALL 

arrival  was,  whether  Mr.  Hall  was  in  town,  and 
would  preach  the  next  day.  I  had  two  introductory 
letters  to  him — one  from  Eowland  Hill,  and  one 
from  an  intimate  friend  of  his  in  London,  to  whom 
I  knew  he  was  under  great  obligations  ;  so  that  I 
felt  tolerably  strong  in  calling,  as  I  did,  Saturday 
night,  to  pay  my  respects  to  him ;  and  yet,  had  I 
known  as  much  before  as  I  did  afterwards,  of  his 
extreme  aversion  to  seeing  company,  I  scarcely  think 
I  should  have  had  the  courage  to  seek  an  intro- 
duction to  him.  He  received  me  courteously,  but 
told  me  that  he  was  suffering  extreme  pain,  as, 
indeed,  he  had  been  during  the  greater  part  of  his 
life.  He  was  rather  shabbily  dressed ;  but  with 
such  a  commanding  person  and  countenance  as  he 
had,  he  could  well  afford  to  be  ;  for  it  must  have 
been  a  singular  eye  that  would  have  been  detained 
by  his  dress,  let  it  have  been  what  it  might.  His 
face  has  been  made  so  familiar  to  everybody  by 
numerous  engraved  likenesses,  that  it  would  be  need- 
less to  attempt  to  describe  it ;  and  yet  the  most 
perfect  portrait  of  him  that  I  have  seen,  is  not  so 
perfect  but  that  the  original,  as  it  has  always  lain 
in  my  memory,  casts  it  into  the  shade.  Having 
ascertained  that  he  would  preach  the  next  morn- 
ing, I  took  my  leave  of  him,  promising,  however, 
to  see  him  again  at  his  house,  early  in  the  week. 

I  went  the  next  morning  to  Broadniead  Chapel, 
to  hear  him  preach.  It  was,  by  no  means,  a  large 
building ;  nor  was  the  congregation,  in  point  of 


AND    JOHN    FOSTER.  57 

numbers,  anything  like  what  I  had  expected ;  though 
I  understood  it  was  select,  and  had  in  it  an  unusual 
proportion  of  intelligent  men.  One  of  the  tutors 
in  the  Baptist  Theological  Academy  at  Bristol,  per- 
formed the  introductory  services,  and  it  was  not  till 
they  were  singing  the  second  time,  that  Mr.  Hall 
walked  into  the  pulpit.  His  gait  was  slow  and  ma- 
jestic ;  and  if  I  had  known  nothing  of  him  before, 
I  should  have  needed  nobody  to  assure  me  that  he 
was  some  extraordinary  personage.  He  rose  and  an- 
nounced his  text  in  the  most  unpretending  man- 
ner that  can  be  imagined,  and  in  so  low  a  tone  that 
I  found  it  difficult  to  understand  him.  For  sev- 
eral minutes  there  was  no  material  improvement  in 
his  style  of  elocution — he  kept  pulling  the  leaves 
of  his  Bible,  as  if  he  were  a  book-binder,  engaged 
in  taking  a  book  to  pieces  ;  and  his  eyes  were  stead- 
fastly fixed  in  one  direction,  as  if  his  whole  audi- 
ence were  gathered  into  one  corner  of  the  room.  I 
said  to  myself—"  If  this  is  Kobert  Hall  in  England, 
I  greatly  prefer  to  meet  him  as  I  can  in  America  ; 
for  I  had  rather  read  his  writings,  than  merely  hear 
his  unintelligible  whispers."  Presently,  however,  the 
scene  began  to  change  ;  and  his  voice,  though  still 
low,  became  distinctly  audible.  For  the  first  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes,  he  said  nothing  which  would 
have  led  me  to  inquire  who  he  was,  if  I  had  not 
known ; .  for  the  last  twenty-five  or  thirty,  it  seemed 
to  me  that  he  said  scarcely  anything  that  could 
have  been  said  by  another  man.  It  was  like  an 

3* 


58  ROBERT     HALL 

impetuous  mountain  torrent  in  a  still  night.  There 
was  not  the  semblance  of  parade — nothing  that  be- 
trayed the  least  thought  of  being  eloquent,  but 
there  was  a  power  of  thought,  a  grace  and  beauty, 
and  yet  force,  of  expression,  a  facility  of  command- 
ing the  best  language,  without  apparently  think- 
ing of  the  language  at  all,  combined  with  a  counte- 
nance all  glowing  from  the  fire  within,  which  con- 
stituted a  fascination  that  was  to  me  perfectly 
irresistible.  As  he  advanced  to  the  close  of  his  dis- 
course, the  effect  upon  my  nervous  system  was  like 
the  discharge  of  artillery ;  and  though  I  was  com- 
pletely rapt  with  wonder  and  admiration,  I  was  not 
sorry  when  he  said — "Let  us  pray."  I  shall,  per- 
haps, be  less  suspected  of  extravagance  in  this 
statement,  when  I  say  that  Eobert  Hall's  own  peo- 
ple regarded  this  as  an  extraordinary  performance ; 
and  one  of  his  intelligent  hearers  told  me  that  I 
might  have  heard  him  for  years,  and  not  have 
chanced  to  hear  so  fine  a  sermon. 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  observing  that  Mr. 
Hall  passed  into  the  vestry  from  which  I  had  seen 
him  come,  I  ventured,  after  a  moment,  to  step  in 
and  pay  my  respects  to  him ;  and  I  found  him 
stretched  out  upon  two  or  three  chairs,  with  his 
pipe  already  in  his  mouth ;  and  I  was  assured  that 
he  always  smoked  up  to  the  last  moment  before 
going  into  the  pulpit.  He  introduced  me  to  several 
of  his  friends,  and  especially  to  a  Dr.  Stock,  who 
was  just  at  that  time  a  good  deal  talked  about  for 


AND    JOHN    FOSTER. 


59 


his  having  recently  renounced  Unitarianism.  He  re- 
quested me  to  come  and  see  him  the  next  day,  and 
said  he  should  beg  me  to  go  home  with  him  then, 
but  that  he  was  so  much  exhausted  after  preaching, 

\       .A  ^*~    ! 

as  to  be  unfit  for  any  conversation. 

When  I  called  upon  him  after  dinner,  on  Mon- 
day, I  found  him  lying  down  upon  chairs,  and  liter- 
ally writhing  in  agony.  After  a  few  minutes,  he 
called  to  his  wife  for  his  accustomed  opiate,  laud- 
anum, and  took  three  hundred  drops,  and  after  a 
short  time,  poured  out  as  much  more,  and  drank 
it  as  if  it  had  been  water.  I  found  that  he  had 
made  arrangements  to  take  me  to  the  house  of  a 
friend  to  pass  the  evening,  where  there  was  to  be  a 
small  party,  and  among  them  the  celebrated  John 
Foster.  This  was  to  me  an  evening  of  great  in- 
terest. Foster  was  there,  and  he  and  Hall  bore  the 
chief  part  in  the  conversation,  each  rendering  the 
other  more  brilliant.  Foster  expressed  to  me  the 
opinion  that  Ha'll  was  unquestionably  the  greatest 
preacher  in  the  world  ;  and  Hall  told  me  that  Fos- 
ter was  the  best  model  of  an  ancient  philosopher 
now  extant.  Foster  was  a  tall,  stately,  and  some- 
what rough-looking  man,  given  to  saying  weighty, 
and  sometimes  witty  things ;  and  though  he  was, 
on  the  whole,  a  remarkably  fine  talker,  he  was  cer- 
tainly greatly  inferior  both  in  fluency  and  in  bril- 
liancy to  Hall.  A  little  circumstance  was  related 
to  me,  as  having  occurred  a  short  time  before,  that 
was  strikingly  illustrative  of  Foster's  disregard  of 


60  ROBERT     HALL 

his  personal  appearance.  As  he  was  going  to  dine 
with  a  friend  who  lived  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  his  residence,  with  an  intention  of  passing  the 
night  with  him,  he  took  along  with  him  his  night- 
clothes.  As  they  hung  out  a  little  from  his  pocket, 
a  person  met  him  in  the  field,  and  said,  "  Well,  I  Ve 
got  you  at  last."  Foster,  not  understanding  the 
strange  salutation,  asked  the  fellow  what  he  meant. 
"  You  need  not  make  strange  of  it,"  was  the  reply, 
"for  I  know  you;  you  are  a  thief."  "But  what 
have  I  stolen  ?"  "  You  shall  know  what  you  have 
stolen — you  shall  go  directly  with  me  to  a  magis- 
trate." "I  am  Mr.  Foster,  of  Stapleton."  "You 
are  not  Mr.  Foster,  for  he  is  a  gentleman,  and  you 
are  not."  "Well,"  says  Foster,  "if  you  are  de- 
termined to  carry  me  to  a  magistrate,  I  must  go 
with  you,  of  course  ;  but  suppose  you  go  with 
me  to  Mrs.  C/s,  and  see  what  they  say  about  me." 
To  this  the  fellow  consented  ;  and  when  the  servant 
came  to  the  gate,  Mr.  Foster  asked  him  to  tell  that 
man  who  he  was.  When  the  servant  said  "  Mr. 
Foster,"  the  poor  fellow  who  was  taking  him  into 
custody  instantly  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  begged  a 
thousand  pardons.^  Mr.  Foster  did  not  mention  the 
affair  to  the  company  immediately  on  going  into 
the  house,  but  he  was  observed  frequently  to  smile 
and  bite  his  lips  during  the  dinner,  which  finally  led 
to  an  explanation. 

Among  other  subjects  that  came  up  in  the  course 
of  the  evening  was  that  of  Lexicography.     Hall  had 


AND    JOHN    FOSTER.  61 

no  patience  with  the  modem  taste  for  multiplying 
words  beyond  what  he  thought  the  progress  of  civili- 
zation required ;  and  he  maintained  that  the  object 
of  a  dictionary  should  be  to  ascertain  and  fix  the 
legitimate  meaning  of  words,  rather  than,  by  need- 
lessly introducing  new  ones,  to  keep  the  language 
in  a  state  of  constant  fluctuation.  He  went  into 
a  somewhat  lengthened  argument,  showing  the  ut- 
most familiarity  with  philological  subjects,  as  well 
as  the  most  exact  and  cultivated  taste  ;  and 
the  splendour  of  his  diction,  even  while  he  was 
talking  about  the  philosophy  of  language,  was 
equalled  only  by  the  rapidity  of  his  utterance. 
During  nearly  the  whole  evening,  he  was  lying  in 
his  favorite  posture,  stretched  upon  two  or  three 
chairs,  and,  every  now  and  then,  refreshing  us  with 
the  fumes  of  the  weed.  Before  we  separated  he  of- 
fered a  most  pertinent  and  affectionate  prayer,  which 
recognized,  in  a  truly  felicitous  manner,  all  the  pe- 
culiar circumstances  under  which  we  were  met. 

The  next  afternoon  I  spent  at  Mr.  Hall's  house, 
by  invitation,  when  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being 
alone  with  him  and  his  family.  Though  he  was 
constantly  in  pain,  and  was  frequently  using  his  an- 
tidote in  such  quantities  as  would  have  seemed  in- 
credible, if  I  had  not  witnessed  it,  yet  he  was  all  the 
time  beyond  measure  brilliant  and  interesting.  No- 
thing impressed  me  more  than  his  high  appreciation 
of  the  talents  of  other  men,  whom  the  world  would 
have  pronounced  greatly  inferior  to  himself,  while  he 


62  ROBERT     HALL 

could  not  have  the  least  patience  with  anything  like 
unreasonable  pretension  or  arrogance.  He  spoke  of 
certain  divines  in  our  own  country  in  terms  of  un- 
measured respect  —  he  mentioned  particularly  Dr. 
Mason,  and  Dr.  Dwight,  and  above  all  President 
Edwards,  as  among  the  brightest  stars  in  the  theo- 
logical firmament ;  while  I  remember  he  spoke  of 
one  whom  he  had  never  seen,  but  of  whose  self- 
complacency  he  had  had  rather  a  revolting  demon- 
stration, with  an  air  of  most  scathing  sarcasm.  He 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  celebrated  Eobert 
Robinson,  of  Cambridge  ;  and  he  regarded  him  as, 
without  exception,  the  most  powerful  and  delightful 
man  in  conversation,  and  the  most  engaging  preacher, 
he  ever  knew.  He  expressed  his  astonishment  that 
Dr.  Mason  was  so  great  an  admirer  of  John  Owen — 
as  for  himself,  he  said,  he  could  not  endure  him ; 
and  though  Owen  had  certainly  poured  out  a  world 
of  matter,  it  was  matter  in  the  sense  of  pus.  He 
talked  with  great  enthusiasm  of  the  celebrated 
Thomas  Spencer,  of  Liverpool,  and  had  no  doubt 
that  he  was  the  most  effective  preacher,  so  far,  at 
least,  as  manner  was  concerned,  that  had  arisen  since 
the  time  of  Whitefield  ;  though  he  had  never  seen 
him,  and  formed  his  opinion  upon  testimony  alone. 
He  had  much  to  say  on  the  subject  of  preternatural 
admonitions,  spectres,  &c. ;  and  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  avow  himself  a  believer  in  such  things,  though  he 
was  aware  that  he  did  it  at  the  expense  of  being 
thought  superstitious.  Indeed,  he  told  me  two  or 


AND    JOHN    FOSTER.  63 

three  regular  ghost  stories,  for  the  truth  of  which 
he  stood  ready  to  vouch.  He  could  scarcely  find 
language  to  convey  his  idea  of  the  excellence  of  his 
predecessor  at  Bristol,  Dr.  Ryland.  I  was  told  that 
some  one  once  reported  something  to  Mr.  Hall,  which 
he  at  first  pronounced  incredible  ;  but  when  Dr. 
Kyland  was  mentioned  as  the  authority,  he  said — 
"  Did  Dr.  Kyland  say  so,  Sir  ?  Then  it  is  true, 
Sir;  for  I  would  as  soon  receive  his  testimony  as 
the  affidavit  of  seven  archangels."  I  remained  with 
him  till  after  eleven  o'clock,  and  then  left  him,  not 
more  impressed  with  his  greatness  than  his  sim- 
plicity and  generosity.  As  I  was  coming  away,  he 
gave  me  one  of  his  printed  works,  with  an  affec- 
tionate inscription  to  me  on  the  title-page,  with 
his  own  hand.  I  never  saw  him  after  parting  with 
him  that  evening. 


IX. 


A  S  Barley  Wood  was  but  about  ten  miles  from 
Bristol,  it  was  impossible  that  I  should  be  so  near 
the  residence  of  its  far-famed  occupant,  without,  at 
least,  making  an  effort  to  see  her  ;  though  the  ac- 
counts which  I  had  heard  of  her  feeble  health,  and 
her  inability  to  see  even  her  own  friends,  left  me 
with  little  hope  that  any  effort  I  could  make  would 
be  successful.  Still,  as  there  was  some  hope,  I  re- 
solved to  try ;  and,  accordingly,  left  Bristol  early 
one  morning,  accompanied  by  Mr.  H ,  a  gen- 
tleman who  showed  me  great  kindness,  determined 
to  see  Barley  Wood  at  any  rate,  and  Mrs.  MORE  if 
it  were  possible.  The  morning  was  bright,  the  coun- 
try beautiful,  and  the  ~ride  altogether  delightful, 
except  for  the  doubtful  success  of  our  enterprise. 
At  length,  we  found  by  inquiry,  (for  this  was  my 
friend's  first  visit  to  that  famous  spot,)  that  we  were 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  gate  that  opened  to 
Mrs.  More's  grounds.  As  we  entered  the  enclosure. 


HANNAH     MORE.  65 

we  were  met  by  a  servant,  who  relieved  our  appre- 
hension of  disappointment  by  telling  us  that  Mrs. 
More  was  in  comfortable  health,  and  would  doubt- 
less be  happy  to  receive  us.  Her  dwelling  was  a 
thatched  cottage,  standing  on  a  graceful  declivity, 
and  overlooking  the  church  and  village  of  Wring- 
ton,  a  charming  verdant  vale,  Bristol  channel,  and 
a  range  of  distant  hills. 

The  servant  left  us  in  the  parlour,  while  he  went 
to  take  to  Mrs.  More  my  introductory  letters,  one 
of  which  was  from  Dr.  King,  now  of  Athens,  and 
the  other  from  Mr.  Wilberforce.  As  we  were  de- 
tained a  few  moments,  I  occupied  myself  in  looking 
at  the  engraved  likenesses,  which  nearly  covered  the 
walls  of  the  room  ;  and  I  noticed,  what,  indeed,  had 
been  remarked  to  me  by  some  other  person,  that  not 
a  Dissenter's  head  was  to  be  found  among  them 
all ;  an  indication,  I  was  told,  of  what  was  really 
the  case,  that  Mrs.  More's  Christian  sympathies,  es- 
pecially in  her  latter  years,  were  almost  exclusively 
with  the  Church  of  England.  There  was  also  in 
the  room  a  small  miscellaneous  library,  in  which  I 
noticed  a  copy  of  Bishop  Dehon's  sermons,  a  volume 
or  two  of  the  Panoplist,  and,  I  believe,  some  other 
of  our  American  publications. 

In  due  time  the  servant  came  back,  and  con- 
ducted us  into  her  room,  which  was  in  the  second 
story ;  and,  though  a  Catholic  could  scarcely  feel 
more  reverence  in  approaching  the  Holy  Virgin  than 
I  did  in  approaching  her,  the  very  first  words  she 


66  HANNAH     MORE. 

* 

spoke,  without  diminishing  my  reverence,  relieved 
me  from  every  feeling  of  embarrassment,  and  made 
me  forget  the  extent  of  her  fame  in  the  familiar 
gentleness  of  her  manner.  She  was  at  that  time 
eighty-three  years  of  age  ;  she  was  rather  below  the 
medium  stature  ;  her  features  were  remarkably  regu- 
lar, her  complexion  clear  and  bright,  her  eye  gentle 
but  expressive,  and  her  countenance  altogether  glow- 
ing with  benignity  and  intelligence.  Her  hair  was 
powdered,  and  her  dress  rich  and  even  elegant,  con- 
sidering that  she  was  at  home,  and  was  only  receiv- 
ing a  morning  call.  She  had  one  or  two  female 
friends  with  her  when  we  entered  the  room ;  but 
they  almost  immediately  withdrew,  so  that  our  con- 
versation was  exclusively  with  her,  during  nearly 
the  whole  of  our  visit. 

She  at  once  adverted  to  the  fact  of  my  having 
brought  her  a  letter  from  her  "dear  friend,  Mr. 
Wilberforce,"  and  inquired  with  great  interest  in 
respect  to  his  health  ;  and  when  I  told  her  that  -I 
had,  a  few  days  before,  passed  a  most  delightful 
morning  with  him,  she  replied  that  she  had  no 
doubt  it  was  a  morning  spent  on  the  threshold  of 
Heaven ;  and  then  added,  that  he  was  one  of  her 
oldest  friends ;  that  his  writings  had  done  great 
good,  especially  among  the  higher  classes  of  British 
society ;  that  his  visits  to  her  had  always  been  a 
source  of  great  comfort,  and  his  prayers  in  her  fa- 
mily were  really  heavenly.  She  expressed  great  ad- 
miration for  Mr.  Jay  and  Robert  Hall  ;  though  she 


HANNAH     MORE.  67 

knew  the  former  mtich  better  than  the  latter.  Jay 
she  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  delightful  charac- 
ters, and  interesting  preachers,  she  had  ever  known  ; 
and  as  for  Hall,  she  thought  his  powers  of  intellect, 
especially  of  eloquence,  were  unrivalled — his  compo- 
sition she  considered  as  absolutely  perfect  ;  and 
though  she  had  sometimes  read  his  productions  to 
see  if  she  could  not  find  some  fault,  she  had  never 
discovered  anything  in  them  that  seemed  to  her  to 
admit  of  being  changed  for  the  better. 

She  observed,  as  a  peculiarity  of  her  mental  con- 
stitution, that  she  had  never  been  "able  to  quote 
from  her  own  writings  ;  and  it  had  sometimes  hap- 
pened that  a  friend  had  read  to  her  an  extract 
from  one  of  her  own  books,  and  then  amused  her- 
self by  making  her  pass  judgment  upon  it  in  the 
dark.  She  could  not  even  recollect  the  titles  of 
many  of  her  volumes  ;  and  having  occasion  to  refer 
to  one  of  them,  as  she  was  conversing  with  me,  she 
said — "  I  do  not  remember  the  title  ;  but  it  is  some- 
thing about  Christianity,  I  believe." 

As  she  was  evidently  desirous  of  gratifying  our 
curiosity  as  much  as  possible,  she  took  us  into  an- 
other apartment,  which  was  her  sleeping  room ;  and, 
pointing  to  a  fine  old  arm-chair,  said  very  pleas- 
antly— "  That  chair  I  call  my  home/7  She  ob- 
served that  she  had  three  different  prospects  from 
as  many  different  windows  of  her  house  ;  and,  look- 
ing out  of  a  window  in  the  room  where  we  were — 
"  Here,"  said  she,  "  is  what  I  call  my  moral  pros- 


68  HANNAH     MORE. 

pect.  You  see  yonder  distant  hill,  which  cuts  off 
the  prospect  beyond.  You  see  the  tree  before  my 
window,  directly  in  range  of  the  hill.  You  observe 
that  the  tree,  from  being  near,  appears  much  higher 
than  the  hill,  which  is  distant.  Now,  this  tree  rep- 
resents, to  my  mind,  the  objects  of  time — that  hill, 
the  objects  of  eternity.  The  former,  like  the  tree, 
from  being  near  and  distinctly  seen,  appear  great ; 
the  latter,  like  the  hill,  from  being  seen  in  the  dis- 
tance, appear  comparatively  small." 

She  presented  me  with  a  copy  of  the  last  work 
she  had  sent  forth — on  the  "Spirit  of  Prayer" — 
with  a  very  kind  inscription  from  her  own  hand. 
She  said  it  was  a  compilation  from  her  other  works, 
made  when  she  was  so  feeble  as  to  be  confined  to 
her  bed,  with  the  expectation  of  never  rising  from 
it ;  that  she  felt  the  importance  of  the  work,  and 
determined  to  send  it  to  the  press,  if  only  fifty 
copies  were  sold  ;  but,  that  in  less  than  six  months, 
eight  thousand  were  disposed  of.  She  presented  me, 
also,  with  another  book  of  her's,  entitled  "  Hints  to 
a  young  Princess ;"  and  she  accounted  for  its  not 
having  been  printed  in  America,  as  her  other  works 
had  been,  from  the  fact  that  our's  is  a  republican 
government ;  but  she  said  that,  with  the  exception 
of  forty  pages,  it  was  suited  to  the  education  of  the 
higher  class  of  females  generally.  She  dissuaded 
the  Princess  Charlotte  from  learning  music,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  beneath  her  rank,  that  it  would 
occupy  time  that  might  be  spent  to  better  purpose, 


HANNAHMOKE.  69 

t 

and  that  she  could  always  have  professors  of  emi- 
nence to  perform  in  her  presence.  She  spoke  of 
the  Princess  as  a  most  amiable  and  promising  char- 
acter, whose  death  was  a  great  affliction  to  the 
country,  and  whose  example,  if  she  had  lived,  would 
have  exerted  a  most  benign  influence  upon  the 
higher  classes.  Mrs.  More  had  a  strong  conviction 
that  she  possessed  a  truly  Christian  character,  and 
that  her  end  was  peace. 

She  expressed  a  very  kind  solicitude  concerning 
my  health,  which  was  at  that  time  somewhat  im- 
paired ;  and  when  I  told  her  that  I  had  suffered 
severely  from  a  derangement  of  the  nervous  system, 
she  said  her  experience  enabled  her  to  sympathize 
with  me,  and  she  thought  nothing  was  more  im- 
portant to  me  than  to  avoid  undue  excitement.  The 
disciples,  she  remarked,  could  sleep  in  sorrow ;  and 
she  had  found  that  she  could  sleep  better,  after  a 
day  of  affliction,  than  after  a  very  exciting  inter- 
view. Her  whole  character  through  life,  she  repre- 
sented as  having  been  marked  by  impatience  ;  she 
did  not  mean  that  impatience  that  would  lead  her 
to  be  angry  with  servants  and  those  around  her, 
but  that  which  led  her  to  push  on  a  work,  when  she 
had  commenced  it,  till  it  was  completed  ;  and  to  this 
she  attributed  the  fact  of  her  having  written  so  much. 

After  we  had  sat  with  her  a  considerable  time, 
she  directed  her  servant  to  conduct  us  around 
her  "  little  domain,"  as  she  called  it ;  and,  as 
we  went  out,  she  requested  us  to  take  particu- 


70  HANNAH     MORE. 

lar  notice  of  a  monument  she  had  erected  to  the 
memory  of  John  Locke,  and  another  in  honour  of 
her  "dear  friend,"  Bishop  Porteus.  She  told  us 
that  that  place  had  been  in  her  possession  twenty- 
six  years  ;  that  when  she  purchased  it,  it  was  in  a 
wild,  uncultivated  state ;  and  that  whatever  trees  or 
shrubs  we  should  see,  were  planted  by  her  own 
hand.  As  we  walked  over  the  grounds,  we  were 
sometimes  almost  hidden  in  the  foliage ;  and  we 
found  continually,  at  short  distances,  the  monuments 
of  her  taste,  and  skill,  and  industry.  The  most  re- 
markable thing  that  I  remember,  was  a  Druidical 
temple,  as  Mrs.  More  called  it,  made  of  knots  of 
wood,  disposed  in  the  most  fanciful  manner. 

When  we  returned  from  our  ramble,  she  had  pro- 
vided lunch  for  us  ;  and  while  we  remained,  she  con- 
tinued to  converse  with  much  animation  and  inter- 
est. She  mentioned  several  of  her  acquaintances  in 
the  United  States,  with  great  respect  and  good  will ; 
but  no  one,  I  think,  with  quite  so  much  apparent 
cordiality,  or,  perhaps,  in  terms  of  so  high  praise, 
as  the  late  Thomas  H.  G-allaudet,  of  Hartford.  She 
spoke,  also,  with  great  affection,  of  her  "  little  deaf 
and  dumb  correspondent,"  at  Hartford,  Miss  Alice 
Cogswell,  and  said  that  she  had  written  her  some 
of  the  wittiest  letters  she  had  ever  read.  She  was 
very  particular  in  her  inquiries  respecting  my  own 
family,  including  the  number  and  ages  of  my  chil- 
dren, &c.,  and  expressed  her  earnest  wish  that  Provi- 
dence might  restore  me  to  them  in  safety.  Just 


HANNAH     MOKE.  71 

as  I  was  about  to  take  my  leave  of  her,  she  looked 
at  me  with  intense  earnestness,  and  said — "I  beg 
you  will  not  forget  me  in  your  approaches  to  a 
throne  of  grace.  I  have  a  high  estimate  of  the  im- 
portance of  intercessory  prayer ;  and  I  feel  that  I 
am  a  poor  creature,  who  needs  an  interest  in  the 
prayers  of  God's  children  as  much  as  any  one."  She 
then  shook  hands  with  me  very  affectionately,  and 
thanked  me  for  my  call ;  and  we  parted.  But,  after 
I  had  got  out  of  the  house,  a  young  female  friend, 
who  was  staying  with  her,  came  to  the  door,  and 
said  that  Mrs.  More  wished  her  to  show  me  a  copy 
of  an  American  edition  of  her  works,  which  she 
highly  valued,  and  which  had  been,  some  time  be- 
fore, presented  to  her  by  a  gentleman  in  New  York. 
I  accordingly  stepped  back,  but  was  mortified  to 
find  that  the  execution  did  little  honour  to  American 
skill  in  book-making.  The  typography  and  paper 
were  both  very  indifferent,  and  the  binding  was  in 
tawdry  sheep,  looking  as  if  it  were  designed  for  a 
book  auction. .  . 

As  we  left  Barley  Wood,  we  rode,  at  Mrs.  More's 
suggestion,  into  the  village  of  Wrington,  about  half 
a  mile  distant,  where  was  the  church  in  which  she 
had  been  accustomed  to  worship,  when  her  health 
would  permit,  and,  also,  the  house  where  the  illus- 
trious philosopher,  John  Locke,  first  saw  the  light. 
The  house  was  occupied  by  Mrs.  More's  washer-, 
woman,  who  seemed  quite  familiar  with  the  fact, 
but  evidently  knew  nothing  of  the  man. 


72  HANNAH     MORE. 

On  my  return  to  Bristol,  I  was  congratulated  by 
my  friends  on  having  obtained  even  a  sight  of  Mrs. 
More,  especially  on  having  enjoyed  'such  an  inter- 
view with  her ;  and  was  assured,  that  it  was  a  rare 
thing  that  any  visitor  was  equally  fortunate. 


X. 


TjOCTOB  M'CALL,  during  nearly  the  whole  of 
•^  his  ministry,  was  deservedly  reckoned  among  the 
greater  lights  of  the  British  pulpit.  He  died  early ; 
but  not  till  he  had  gained  a  reputation  as  a 
preacher,  and  as  a  man  of  genius,  that  will  never 
die.  He  published  but  little,  and  had  a  great  aver- 
sion to  publishing  anything ;  but,  after  his  death, 
there  was  a  selection  from  his  discourses  printed 
in  two  large  volumes,  in  connexion  with  an  interest- 
ing memoir  of  his  life,  by  his  intimate  friend,  Dr. 
Wardlaw.  I  have  always  wondered  that  these  vol- 
umes have  never  been  reprinted  in  this  country. 
They  certainly  give  but  an  imperfect  idea  of  what 
the  author  was ;  and  yet  they  contain  an  amount 
of  rich  and  powerful  thought,  and  an  exuberance 
of  splendid  imagery,  which  fairly  entitle  them  to  be 
ranked  among  the  first  productions  of  their  day. 

I  had  never  heard  of  Dr.  M'Call  till  I  arrived  in 
England ;  but,  from  that  time,,  his  name  was  men? 

4 


74  D  R  .      M  <  C  A  L  L  . 

tioned  with  the  greatest  respect  in  almost  every 
circle  into  which  I  was  thrown.  I  was  particularly 
advised  not  to  leave  England  until  I  had  heard 
him ;  and  was  assured  that,  if  he  lived,  it  would 
not  he  long  hefore  his  name  would  be  known  in 
the  United  States  as  familiarly  as  that  of  Kohert 
Hall.  I  accordingly  made  my  arrangements  to  pass 
a  Sahhath  at  Manchester,  with  a  view  of  hearing 
him  preach  ;  and  I  arrived  there  on  Friday,  with 
an  intention  to  accomplish  this  favourite  object.  I 
did  accomplish  it  in  the  spirit,  though  not  in  the 
letter ;  as  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

What  I  saw  of  Dr.  M'Call  was  so  very  striking 
and  characteristic,  and,  withal,  so  honourable  to  his 
feelings  as  an  amiable  man,  that  I  have  felt  in- 
clined, at  least  ever  since  his  death,  to  make  a  state- 
ment of  it ;  and  yet  I  was  so  immediately  associ- 
ated with  the  main  affair,  that  I  have  always  felt 
a  difficulty  in  speaking  of  it,  lest  I  should  seem  to 
be  making  a  report  chiefly  of  my  own  experience. 
Hoping,  however,  that  my  motives  will  not  be  mis- 
understood, and  presuming  that  there  is  no  one 
living  whose  delicacy  will  be  wounded  by  what  I 
am  about  to  say,  I  will  venture  to  state  the  very 
characteristic  incident  to  which  I  have  reference, 
substantially  as  I  find  it  in  the  journal  which  I 
kept  at  the  time. 

Having  stopped,  on  my  arrival  at  Manchester,  at 
the  house  of  a  friend,  I  was  introduced,  in  the 
course  of  the  evening,  to  Mr.  H ,  a  highly  re- 


DR.M'CALL.  75 

spectable  member,  and,  I  believe,  a  deacon,  of  Dr. 
M'Call's  church.  He  kindly  offered  to  take  me  the 
next  morning  to  call  upon  the  Doctor ;  though  I 
felt  reluctant  to  intrude  upon  him,  especially  as  it 
was  Saturday,  when  I  supposed  he  might  be  en- 
gaged in  preparing  for  the  Sabbath.  I  finally  con- 
cluded to  avail  myself  of  the  invitation  of  Mr. 
H ,  to  make  a  short  call.  On  my  introduc- 
tion to  him,  which  was  quite  early  in  the  morning, 
I  was  struck  with  his  benign  and  animated  ex- 
pression of  countenance,  and  his  winning  and  even 

# 

affectionate  manner ;  and  scarcely  had  I  sat  down, 
before  he  said,  in  a  tone  of  great  earnestness — "  I 
hope,  Sir,  you  are  not  engaged  to  preach  both  parts 
of  the  day,  to-morrow  ?"  "  No,  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I  am 
not — that  would  defeat  the  great  end  of  my  visit 
here  ;  I  came  on  purpose  to  hear  you"  " My  dear 
Sir,"  said  he,  in  a  still  more  earnest  tone,  "you 
must  not  say  one  word  against  preaching  for  me, 
and  I  am  sure  you  will  not,  when  you  are  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  circumstances  of  the  case."  I 
besought  him  to  consider  it  as  entirely  out  of  the 
question ;  but  he  went  on  to  state  a  number  of 
reasons  why  he  thought  it  was  my  duty  to  occupy 
his  pulpit  part  of  the  day,  the  most  weighty  of 
which  seemed  to  be,  that  he  had  been  engaged  to 
preach  a  charity  sermon,  on  that  Sabbath,  in  Dr. 
Wardlaw's  church,  in  Glasgow ;  that  he  had  writ- 
ten to  Dr.  Wardlaw  that  he  could  not  fulfil  the 
engagement  on  account  of  ill  health ;  but  yet,  that 


76  DB.     M'CALL. 

if  I  did  not  preach  for  him,  he  should  be  obliged 
to  appear  in  the  awkward  and  somewhat  contradic- 
tory attitude  of  preaching  twice  and  administering 
the  communion,  after  having  sent  such  an  apology 
to  Glasgow.  Though  I  had  not  at  first  the  least 
idea  of  yielding  to  his  request,  yet  he  so  completely 
overpowered  me  by  his  eloquent  importunity,  that 
I  finally  ceased  to  say  anything — not  because  my 
mind  was  changed,  but  because  my  arguments  were 
exhausted ;  and  this  he  immediately  construed  into 
compliance  ;  and  upon  the  strength  of  it,  he  said — 
"  Well,  my  dear  brother,  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much 
I  feel  obliged  to  you ;  and  now  I  am  entirely  at 
your  command  during  the  day."  He  kept  his  word 
most  faithfully ;  and  I  believe  never  left  me  at  all 
until  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  It  was  a  sore  disap- 
pointment to  rne  that  I  was  not  to  hear  him  preach  ; 
but  it  was  some  compensation  that  I  should  have 
the  opportunity  of  hearing  him  in  the  communion 
service. 

Agreeably  to  previous  arrangement,  I  met  him  in 
the  vestry  of  his  chapel  (Mosely  street),  a  few  min- 
utes before  the  time  for  commencing  the  morning 
service.  Having  arrayed  me  in  his  canonicals,  he 
accompanied  me  to  the  pulpit  stairs,  and  immedi- 
ately withdrew ;  and  though  I  supposed  he  was 
somewhere  in  the  audience,  I  did  not  know  where, 
until  just  before  I  finished  my  sermon,  when  I  no- 
ticed him  sitting  in  a  pew  directly  before  me.  His 
countenance  showed  me  that  his  strong  sense  of 


DR.     M'CALL.  77 

gratitude,  for  my  having  obliged  him  by  preaching, 
had  made  him  a  very  indulgent  hearer.  The  mo- 
ment I  was  at  the  end  of  my  sermon,  and  had 
turned  round  to  get  the  hymn  book,  (for  in  the  Dis- 
senting churches,  in  England,  the  last  singing  im- 
mediately follows  the  sermon,)  Dr.  M'Call  was  upon 
his  feet,  announcing  my  name  and  residence  to  the 
audience,  and  telling  them  that  I  was  to  preach  that 
evening  for  the  Eev.  Mr,  Coombs,  in  the  chapel  at 
Salford ;  and,  as  it  was  probably  the  last  sermon  I 
should  ever  preach  in  England,  he  should  be  most 
happy  to  have  as  many  of  the  congregation  as 
would,  go  and  hear  me,  notwithstanding  he  expected 
to  occupy  his  own  pulpit.  I  saw  clearly  that  his 
gratitude  and  good  will  had  got  the  better  of  his 
prudence,  and  had  brought  my  modesty  to  quite 
too  severe  a  test ;  and  I  verily  believe  that  I  per- 
formed  the  rest  of  the  service  without  meeting  a 
single  eye  in  the  congregation.  When  the  blessing 
was  pronounced,  I  went  back  into  the  vestry  to  lay 
off  the  gown  and  bands,  and  Dr.  M'Call  immediately 
followed  me.  I  saw  in  a  moment  that  he  was  in  a 
state  of  great  excitement,  and  that  he  was  strug- 
gling against  his  feelings  in  attempting  to  speak. 
"  My  dear  brother — my  dear  brother,"  said  he — "  I 
cannot  express  it — I  never  had  such  feelings — I  ac- 
knowledge I  am  acting  like  a  child" — and  immedi- 
ately extended  both  arms  and  embraced  me,  at  the 
same  time  uttering  loud  sobs.  Though  I  knew  not 
what  was  the  matter,  I  frankly  acknowledge  that  he 


78  DR.     M'CALL. 

worked  up  my  sympathies,  so  that  I  cried  too ; 
and  it  was  fortunate  for  us  both  that  there  was  not 
a  third  person  present,  to  turn  the  scene  into  ridi- 
cule. I  quickly  found  that  the  whole  secret  of  it 
was,  that  his  gratitude  for  my  consenting  to  preach 
for  him,  at  what  he  knew  was  a  great  sacrifice,  had 
predisposed  him  to  hear  me  with  a  spirit  which  had 
not  only  disarmed  criticism,  but  had  given  to  a 
barely  decent  sermon  such  attractions  as  it  never 
had  before,  and  has  never  had  since.  It  was  unfor- 
tunate for  me  that  he  would  be  likely  to  compare 
notes  with  some  of  his  congregation  on  the  subject, 
though  I  thought  that  his  convictions  were  too 
strong  to  be  easily  shaken.  "  But,  now,"  said  he, 
"my  dear  brother,  there  is  only  one  unpleasant  cir- 
cumstance attending  this  ;  and  that  is,  that  I  am 
thrown  into  such  a  state  as  to  be  utterly  unfit  to 
perform  the  communion  service — will  you  not  con- 
sent to  take  that  also?"  "Oh,"  said  I,  "Dr. 
M'Call,  you  must  excuse  me  ;"  and  he  instantly  re- 
plied— "  I  have  no  right  to  make  such  a  request 
of  you,  and  I  am  ashamed  to  have  done  it ;  but  will 
you  not  consent  fo  go  and  sit  by  my  side,  and  take 
the  service  in  case  I  should  find  myself  unable  to 
proceed  ?"  To  this  I  consented,  though  I  was  not 
quite  certain  what  the  result  might  be,  as  I  saw 
he  was  far  from  having  regained  his  accustomed 
composure.  When  he  rose  to  speak,  his  chin  quiv- 
ered, and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  that  he  uttered 
the  first  sentence  or  two  ;  but  before  he  had  pro- 


DR.    M'CALL.  79 

ceeded  far,  lie  was  not  only  himself,  but  much  more 
than  himself ;  and  he  spoke  for  nearly  half  an  hour, 
in  a  strain  of  eloquence  which,  I  think  I  may  safely 
say,  I  have  never  known  to  be  even  approached  on 
a  similar  occasion.  He  introduced  his  remarks  by 
an  allusion  to  the  circumstance  of  my  having  come 
from  another  country,  and  having  preached  the  same 
Gospel  which  they  were  accustomed  to  hear ;  and, 
from  this,  went  on  to  speak  of  Christians  in  all 
parts  of  the  world  being  bound  together  by  a  com- 
mon faith ;  referring  to  different  parts  of  my  dis- 
course in  illustration  of  the  truths  which  he  was  set- 
ting forth.  His  whole  soul  was  evidently  on  fire. 
Sometimes  he  swept  along  with  the  force  of  an 
avalanche,  and  sometimes  there  was  a  melting  ten- 
derness, which  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  could  with- 
stand ;  and,  during  the  whole  time,  his  face  shone 
as  if  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  angel.  I  have 
heard,  more  than  once  since,  that  his  own  people 
remembered  that  effort  as  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able they  ever  heard  from  him  ;  though,  of  course, 
they  knew  nothing  of  the  very  singular  affair  which 
had  preceded  it.  I  doubt  not  that,  on  the  whole, 
I  was  indebted  to  the  circumstance  of  my  having 
consented  to  preach  for  him,  so  much  against  my 
wishes,  for  a  much  more  remarkable  exhibition  of 
his  intellect,  as  I  certainly  was  for  a  much  nearer 
view  of  his  sensitive  and  generous  nature,  than  I 
should  have  had  in  hearing  him  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  his  Sabbath  day  services. 


80  D  B  .    M  '  C  A  L  L  . 

I  never  saw  Dr.  M'Call  after  I  parted  with  him 
at  the  door  of  his  chapel,  as  we  both  preached  in 
the  evening,  and  I  left  early  the  next  morning.  But 
there  was  that  in  him  that  made  an  impression 
upon  my  memory  and  my  heart,  that  promises  to 
stand  well  the  test  of  time.  His  lovely,  beaming, 
perfectly  illuminated  countenance ;  his  voice,  re- 
markable alike  for  its  melody  and  power ;  his 
thoughts,  the  brightest  and  loftiest ;  his  words,  the 
most  felicitous,  and  coming  forth  with  a  lightning- 
like  rapidity ;  his  whole  manner  showing  the  deep 
and  powerful  working  of  the  inward  fire — all  con- 
tributed to  render  him  one  of  the  most  perfect  of 
pulpit  orators ;  while  the  exquisite  tenderness  and 
delicacy  of  his  spirit,  the  grace  and  gentleness  of 
his  manners,  and  his  great  generosity  and  fervent 
piety,  rendered  him  one  of  the  finest  specimens 
both  of  a  man  and  of  a  Christian. 


XI. 


(MADAME   NET.) 

AND 


WAS  indebted  to  the  Mndness  of  Dr.  Baird  (and 
what  American,  who  visited  Paris  during  a  period 
of  several  years,  was  not  indebted  to  him  ?)  for  an 
introduction  to  the  DUCHESS  DE  BKOGLIE  ;  not 
more  distinguished  as  the  wife  of  the  Duke,  than 
as  the  daughter  of  Madame  de  Stael.  She  had 
been  pointed  out  to  me  the  Sabbath  morning  be- 
fore, with  her  daughter,  at  the  chapel  at  which  Mr. 
Audubez  officiated,  and  where  I  understood  she  was 


82  DUCHESS    DEBROGLIE. 

a  regular  attendant.  Both  she  and  her  daughter 
were  dressed  in  the  most  simple  manner,  and  there 
was  nothing  in  the  appearance  of  either  to  indicate 
that  their  home  might  not  have  been  in  some  re- 
tired and  humble  dwelling.  Through  Dr.  Baird's 
kindness,  an  appointment  was  made  for  my  calling 
upon  her;  and  I  quickly  found  that  I  could  not 
have  been  presented  under  better  auspices.  We 
called  at  the  appointed  hour ;  and,  after  a  little  de- 
lay, the  Duchess  appeared,  and  met  us  in  the  most 
simple  and  unostentatious  way  imaginable.  She  was 
a  lady  of  fine  personal  appearance,  spoke  very  good 
English,  but  sometimes  hurried  her  words  together, 
so  that  it  was  not  easy  to  understand  her.  She 
seemed  greatly  interested  in  the  religious  state  of 
things  in  the  United  States,  and  especially  in  the 
revivals  of  which  she  had  heard  so  much ;  and  she 
could  not  be  satisfied  with  anything  short  of  the 
most  minute  details  respecting  them.  Indeed,  she 
put  questions  to  me  with  so  much  rapidity,  that 
if  I  had  not  felt  quite  familiar  with  the  subject  on 
which  she  wished  for  information,  she  would  have 
been  obliged  to  wait  somewhat  for  my  answers,  not- 
withstanding I  was  using  my  native  language,  and 
she  a  foreign  one.  She  spoke  with  great  appar- 
ent concern  of  the  state  of  the  Koman  Catholic 
Church,  of  which  I  knew  that  her  husband  was  a 
member ;  and  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  was 
gradually  to  lose  its  distinctive  character  by  being 
reformed,  rather  than  to  be  formally  abandoned. 


MADAME    NET. 

She  wished  me  to  give  her  an  account  of  my 
own  Christian  experience  ;  and,  though  the  request 
seemed  a  little  odd,  considering  that  it  was  our  first 
meeting,  it  was  made  with  such  manifest  sim- 
plicity and  sincerity,  as  to  relieve  me  from  all  em- 
barrassment in  answering  her  inquiries.  On  the 
whole,  she  impressed  me  as  one  of  the  most  de- 
lightful examples  of  earnest,  practical  Christianity, 
in  the  higher  walks  of  life,  that  I  had  ever  met 
with.  While  her  conversation  indicated  the  high- 
est intelligence  and  refinement,  it  showed  no  less 
that  she  regarded  it  as  her  greatest  privilege  to  be 
a  learner  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  She  wrote  me  a 
kind  note  before  I  left  Paris,  but  this  was  the  only 
interview  I  had  with  her. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  spending  an  hour  or  two 
in  the  family  of  MARSHAL  KEY.  I  had  an  introduc- 
tion from  a  member  of  the  family  of  the  late  Citi- 
zen Genet,  who  was  the  uncle  of  MADAME  NET, 
and  was  received  with  as  much  warmth,  as  if  I  had 
been  a  friend  of  many  years'  standing.  While  I 
was  conversing  with  them,  I  could  not  keep  my 
thoughts  from  the  horrible  scenes  through  which 
the  family  had  passed,  and  especially  that  by  which 
they  had  been  deprived  of  their  illustrious  head. 
Madame  Ney  had  as  many  questions  to  ask  as  the 
Duchess  de  Broglie,  though  they  were  generally  of 
a  very  different  character.  Though  she  had  not 
seen  her  uncle  since  she  was  quite  a  child,  she  drew 


84  MARSHAL    GROUCHY. 

from  me  everything  in  respect  to  his  life,  and  death, 
and  family,  that  I  knew ;  besides,  I  "believe,  asking 
me  some  questions  that  I  was  not  able  to  answer. 
And  when  we  had  disposed  of  Citizen  Genet,  she 
fell  to  questioning  me  about  myself  and  my  family ; 
and  if  her  object  had  been  to  bring  out  my 
biography  in  a  book  before  I  left  Paris,  she  could 
scarcely  have  descended  to  more  minute  particu- 
lars. I  do  not  mean  that  there  was  anything  about 
it  that  seemed  in  the  least  impertinent  or  obtrus- 
ive ;  on  the  contrary,  all  her  inquiries  were  made 
with  such  apparent  kindness  and  good  will,  that  I 
felt  myself  honoured  in  answering  them.  She  spoke 
once  or  twice  of  her  husband,  but  it  was  only  an 
incidental  remark  or  two,  and  I  did  not  feel  myself 
at  liberty  to  ask  any  questions  concerning  him — es- 
pecially any  that  looked  towards  his  tragical  end. 
She  was  rather  a  large,  portly  woman,  and  a  per- 
fect lady  in  her  manners,  though  I  felt  it  a  great 
drawback  that  she  did  not  speak  a  word  of  Eng- 
lish. Two  of  her  family,  however,  who  were  at 
home,  spoke  it  pretty  well ;  and  we  found  it  con- 
venient to  put  them  in  requisition,  occasionally,  in 
carrying  on  our  conversation.  One  of  the  sons  whom 
I  saw  was  the  Prince  of  Moskowa. 

I  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  to  MARSHAL  GROUCHY, 
from  a  very  eminent  man  in  this  country,  who  had 
known  him  pretty  well  in  former  years ;  but,  unfor- 
tunately, both  his  person  and  his  name  had  faded 


MARSHAL     GROUCHY.  85 

from  the  Marshal's  memory.  It  made  no  differ- 
ence, however,  as  to  the  reception  I  met  with  ;  or 
if  there  was  any  difference  at  all,  I  think  it  was 
rather  in  my  favour,  as  the  veteran  General  seemed 
disposed  to  make  up,  by  rather  an  exuberance  of 
kind  offices,  for  the  defect  of  his  memory.  He  was 
at  that  time  about  seventy-five  years  old ;  was  of 
rather  a  slender  habit,  and  not  much,  if  at  all, 
above  the  middle  height,  with  a  countenance  rather 
strongly  marked,  and  looking  as  if  he  had  not  al- 
ways been  in  a  state  of  repose.  I  visited  him  by 
invitation  several  times,  and  he  always  seemed  de- 
sirous of  knowing  if  there  was  any  way  in  which  he 
could  be  useful  to  me.  He  talked  freely  about  Na- 
poleon and  Louis  Philippe,  who  was  then  upon  the 
throne,  and  gave  me  many  interesting  incidents  in 
his  own  history,  going  back  to  the  old  French 
Kevolution.  Probably  there  was  no  person  then 
living  who  was  more  familiar  than  he  with  the 
events  of  that  period,  or  who  was  better  acquainted 
with  the  prominent  characters  that  figured  in  it ; 
and  he  seemed  to  have  forgotten  nothing.  One 
morning,  when  I  went  to  breakfast  with  him,  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  make  the  coffee,  boil  the 
eggs,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  discover,  cook  the  whole 
breakfast. 


XII. 


SPENT  an  hour  with  GENERAL  BERNARD.    He  had 

been    so  long  in  this    country,   that  he   seemed 

to  have  somewhat  of  the  American  feeling — at  least 

he    made    intelligent    inquiries    on    various    subjects 


GENERAL     BERNARD.  87 

concerning  the  United  States,  on  all  of  which  he 
seemed  to  be  quite  at  home.  A  friend  who  was  on 
intimate  terms  with  him,  called  with  me,  and  he  re- 
ceived us  in  his  study  sans  ceremonie,  and  appar- 
ently with  much  cordiality.  It  was  just  at  the  time, 
during  General  Jackson's  administration,  when  our 
relations  to  France  had  assumed  a  somewhat  dubi- 
ous aspect  ;  and  this,  almost  immediately,  became 
the  subject  of  our  conversation.  He  expressed  the 
opinion  that  there  was  no  danger  of  a  war  between 
the  two  nations,  though  he  thought  both  were  in 
fault — the  conduct  of  Mr.  Livingston,  our  Minister, 
he  censured  in  no  moderate  terms ;  and  General 
Jackson's  famous  message  he  pronounced  an  outrage 
upon  the  dignity  of  France.  At  the  same  time,  he 
said  that  he  had  a  high  respect  for  General  Jack- 
son's private  character,  and  thought  him  an  excel- 
lent man.  As  we  rose  to  come  away,  after  sitting 
with  him  a  considerable  time,  he  said  that  I  must 
not  go  until  I  had  seen  his  family,  and  immediately 
took  me  into  the  parlour,  and  presented  me  to  his 
wife  and  daughters,  whom  I  found  exceedingly 
agreeable  ladies,  and  all  speaking  English  as  readily 
as  I  could  speak  it  myself.  They  had  quite  the 
appearance  of  an  American  family,  and  were  glad  of 
an  opportunity  to  inquire  for  their  friends  in  this 
country,  many  of  whom  were  personally  known  to 
me.  General  Bernard  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a 
French  gentleman,  and  everything  about  his  family 
bespoke  the  highest  degree  of  refinement. 


GUIZOT. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Marshal  Grouchy,  I  had 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  GUIZOT,  then  Minister  of 
Public  Instruction ;  but  when  I  called  to  deliver  it, 
I  did  not  find  him  at  home.  He,  however,  immedi- 
ately addressed  a  note  to  me,  requesting  me  to  re- 
peat my  call  the  next  day  at  ten ;  but,  as  the  next 
day  was  the  Sabbath,  I  was  obliged  to  excuse  my- 
self. He  then  appointed  another  day,  requesting 
me  to  breakfast  with  him  ;  and  this  invitation  I  ac- 
cepted. I  found  him  an  exceedingly  good-looking 
man,  rather  below  than  above  the  middle  height,  but 
an  uncommonly  compact  and  well-formed  person. 
He  met  me  with  a  look  and  air  of  great  urbanity, 
and  began  immediately  to  converse  about  America, 
as  fast  as  his  poor  English  and  my  poor  French 
would  permit.  The  subject  that  seemed  chiefly  to 
interest  him,  was  education.  He  wished  to  know 
everything  about  our  educational  plans,  apparently 
with  a  view  to  turn  the  information  to  some  account 
in  furthering  the  same  cause  in  his  own  country. 
Though  there  was  nothing  in  his  remarks  that  was 
particularly  profound — much  less  that  had  the  least 
appearance  of  showing  off,  yet  it  was  manifest  that 
he  spoke  out  of  the  depths  of  a  rich,  philosophical, 
and  highly-cultivated  mind.  His  manners,  as  he  was 
a  Frenchman,  could  not  be  otherwise  than  graceful ; 
but  he  had  also  an  air  of  dignity  and  stability  that 
I  missed  in  a  good  many  of  his  distinguished  coun- 
trymen. 


LOUIS    PHILIPPE.  89 

The  last,  though  not  least,  of  the  magnates  of 
Paris,  whom  I  wish  to  include  in  these  notices,  is 
Louis  PHILIPPE.  He  was  to  hold  a  levee  one  even- 
ing at  the  Tuilleries,  to  which  one  of  my  friends  pro- 
cured for  me  an  invitation.  It  was  the  most  splen- 
did affair  in  its  way,  that  it  has  ever  been  my 
fortune  to  witness.  Military  officers  and  other  dis- 
tinguished individuals  from  almost  every  nation  were 
there,  each  dressed  in  his  appropriate  costume. 
About  half-past  eight  a  door  at  the  end  of  the  im- 
mense hall  in  which  the  company  were  assembled, 
opened,  and  the  King,  Queen,  and  two  or  three 
daughters,  made  their  appearance.  The  Princesses 
had  each  a  splendid  bouquet,  and  the  younger  of 
them  seemed  very  beautiful.  There  were,  I  should 
think,  nearly  two  hundred  ladies  standing  in  a  line 
on  one  side  of  the  room,  ready  to  be  introduced  to 
the  royal  family  as  they  passed  along.  The  King, 
of  course,  took  the  precedence.  He  reminded  me 
strikingly,  by  his  general  appearance,  as  I  believe 
he  has  done  many  other  persons,  of  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles 
Ely.  I  cannot  conceive  of  grace  and  dignity  being 
more  perfectly  commingled  than  they  were  in  his 
manners.  He  seemed  to  have  a  word  for  every  lady 
that  was  presented  to  him,  that  left  a  smile  upon 
her  countenance  ;  and  I  thought  I  noticed  that  the 
more  beautiful  ladies  detained  him  the  longest.  I 
went  with  the  expectation  of  being  presented  to 
him  myself ;  but  I  found  that  he  advanced  so 
slowly  that  my  turn  would  not  come  for  two  or  three 


90       GEORGE    WASHINGTON    LAFAYETTE. 

hours ;  and,  as  I  was  too  much  fatigued  to  remain 
in  a  standing  posture  all  that  time,  I  betook  myself 
to  a  place  of  less  splendour,  but  better  accommoda- 
tions. Louis  Philippe  was  then  in  his  greatest 
glory — little  did  he  dream  of  the  ignominous  flight 
and  exile  that  awaited  him. 


There  was  one  individual  in  Paris  whom  I  had 
felt  specially  desirous  of  seeing,  rather  on  his 
father's  account  than  on  his  own — I  mean  George 
Washington  Lafayette.  I  had  a  letter  to  him  from 
a  very  distinguished  individual  in  this  country,  to 
whom  he  was  under  strong  personal  obligations.  I 
called  and  delivered  my  letter  shortly  after  my  ar- 
rival in  Paris,  but  was  informed  that  he  was  passing 
a  few  days  in  the  country.  With  the  letter,  how- 
ever, I  left  my  card,  indicating  my  address.  After 
a  short  time,  I  ascertained  that  he  was  at  home, 
and  expected,  of  course,  that  he  would  honour  the 
letter  of  his  friend,  at  least  so  much  as  to  call 
upon  me.  As,  however,  I  heard  nothing  from  him, 
I  thought  it  possible  that  the  letter  had  not  been 
delivered  to  him ;  and  a  few  days  before  I  was  to 
leave,  I  addressed  him  a  note,  apologizing,  however, 
for  the  liberty,  and  saying  that  I  should  be  glad 
to  pay  my  respects  to  him,  if  it  should  suit  his  con- 
venience. I  received  no  reply  to  my  note,  and  left, 
of  course,  without  seeing  him.  When  I  mentioned 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON    LAFAYETTE. 


91 


the  circumstance  to  some  person  well  acquainted 
with  his  character,  he  remarked  that  it  did  not  at 
all  surprise  him,  and  left  me  with  the  impression, 
that  his  chief  distinction  consisted  in  bearing  vener- 
able names. 


XIII 


AND 


TF  there  was  anybody  in  or  about  Geneva,  whose 
acquaintance  I  was  particularly  desirous  of  mak- 
ing, it  was  the  great  historian,  SISMONDI.  His  resi- 
dence was  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city, 
and  it  was  arranged,  through  the  kindness  of  a 
friend,  that  I  should  go  out,  and  pass  an  evening 
with  him.  I  accordingly  did  so,  and  the  visit  sup- 
plied me  with  much  material  for  grateful  and  en- 
during recollection. 

I  found  him — as  he  had  assured  me  in  a  note, 
which  I  received  from  him  the  day  before,  that  I 
should — alone  with  his  family ;  and  his  family  con- 
sisted of  only  his  wife  and  her  sister.  He  received 
me  in  the  most  familiar  way,  so  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult for  me  to  feel  that  I  was  meeting  a  stranger. 
I  should  think  he  was  at  that  time  about  sixty 
years  old  ;  in  his  person,  he  was  short  and  thick, 


SISMONDI. 

with  a  prodigiously  large  head,  a  very  black  eye, 
and  a  most  intelligent  expression  of  countenance. 
He  spoke  English  without  difficulty,  though  he 
would  frequently  forget  himself,  and  begin  to  speak 
French.  He  also,  now  and  then,  made  an  amusing 
blunder,  though  not  to  compare  with  one  that  was 
perpetrated  about  the  same  time  by  another  emi- 
nent man,  with  whom  I  was  conversing,  and  who, 
speaking  of  a  crime  which  had  been  committed  in 
Switzerland  not  long  before,  by  a  Catholic  priest, 
remarked,  that  "He  tried  to  steal  (hide)  his  crime, 
and  that  he  was  afterwards  hung-ed"  Sismondi  be- 
gan almost  immediately  to  converse  about  American 
slavery ;  and,  though  he  evinced  much  less  of  igno- 
rance and  prejudice  on  the  subject  than  most  of 
those  whom  I  met,  yet  he  took  the  European  side 
of  the  question  with  considerable  earnestness.  He 
talked  a  good  deal  about  the  literati  of  the  preced- 
ing generation,  with  whom  he  had  been  familiar, 
and  especially  of  Madame  de  Stael,  with  whom  he 
kept  up  an  active  correspondence  for  many  years. 
He  had  many  inquiries  to  make  concerning  Miss 
Sedgwick,  which,  unfortunately,  I  could  answer 
only  in  general ;  he  spoke  of  her  as  his  intimate 
friend,  and  his  admiration  of  her  and  her  writings 
seemed  to  be  unbounded.  As  his  wife  was  an  Eng- 
lish lady,  and  Sir  James  Mackintosh  was  his  brother- 
in-law,  he  seemed  to  be  as  familiar  with  the  promi- 
nent literary  characters  of  England  as  with  those 
of  his  own  country.  He  was  a  great  admirer  of 


94  SISMONDI. 

Robert  Hall ;  and  when  I  mentioned  that  I  once 
had  the  privilege  of  hearing  him  preach,  he  desired 
me  to  tell  minutely  everything  I  could  remember 
concerning  him.  The  comparative  merits  of  Wil- 
berforce  and  Hannah  More  were  discussed ;  and  the 
conclusion  which  he  seemed  to  have  reached  was, 
that  Mrs.  More  was  much  the  more  highly  gifted  of 
the  two,  and  that  she  had  done  more  for  her  gener- 
ation than  almost  any  other  individual,  male  or 
female.  He  spoke  in  terms  of  the  highest  respect 
of  Dr.  Channing,  and  ranked  him,  unhesitatingly, 
among  the  most  eloquent  writers  of  the  day.  Both 
he  and  Madame  Sismondi  manifested  a  mortal  aver- 
sion to  "  Methodism,"  meaning  by  it  the  system  of 
religion  taught  by  the  Evangelical  School  at  Geneva, 
and  were  very  lavish  of  their  praises  of  the  National 
Church.  They  remarked  that  both  England  and 
America  had  sent  large  sums  of  money  thither, 
which  had  been  worse  than  thrown  away  upon  the 
cause  of  separatism  !  I  perceived  that  their  relig- 
ious sympathies  and  mine  were  not  much  in  har- 
mony ;  and  this,  I  suppose,  they  might  have  dis- 
covered, though  I  did  not  feel  myself  called  upon 
to  enter  into  any  controversy  with  them.  Sismondi 
impressed  me  as  an  exceedingly  good-humoured  and 
witty  man  ;  and  he  would  often  throw  such  a  ludi- 
crous air  about  even  grave  matters,  that  I  found  it 
difficult  to  keep  from  being  convulsed  with  laugh- 
ter. He  was  a  sort  of  man  who  would  draw  you 
to  him  irresistibly,  as  well  by  his  warm  social  aftec- 


DECANDOLLE.  95 

tions,  as  by  his  brilliant  conversation  and  extensive 
knowledge. 

DECANDOLLE,  as  everybody  knows,  was  no  less 
celebrated  as  a  botanist,  than  Sismondi  was  as  an 
historian.  I  called,  agreeably  to  a  previous  arrange- 
ment, at  his  house,  and  was  met  by  his  son,  a  young 
gentleman  of  most  amiable  and  modest  appearance, 
who  was  then  the  acting  professor  of  botany  in  the 
academy.  He  immediately  conducted  me  into  his 
father's  study,  where  I  found  him  engaged  in  read- 
ing. He  was  rather  a  short  man,  with  a  fine,  open 
expression  of  countenance,  and  as  far  removed  as 
possible  from  anything  like  ostentation.  He  was,  at 
that  time,  fifty-nine  years  of  age.  I  offered  him 
two  or  three  of  my  general  letters  of  introduction, 
but  he  very  politely  refused  them ;  and  when  his 
son,  who  acted  as  our  interpreter,  intimated  to  him 
that  there  was  one  from  Albert  Gallatin,  with  whom 
he  was  acquainted,  that  I  wished  him  to  read,  he 
simply  opened  it,  and  looked  at  the  name,  and 
handed  it  back  to  me.  This  was  according  to  a 
common  usage  on  the  Continent,  which  does  not 
allow  it  to  be  consistent  with  good  manners  to  read 
an  introductory  note  in  '  the  presence  of  the  person 
who  delivers  it.  He  was  so  very  modest,  that  I  was 
obliged  to  play  Yankee  in  order  to  find  out  what  I 
wished  to  know  concerning  the  results  of  his  la- 
bours. He  told  me  that  his  first  work — a  splendid 
folio,  that  sells  for  twenty  pounds  sterling — was  pub- 


96  DECANDOLLE. 

lished  in  Paris,  when  lie  was  only  twenty  years  old  ; 
that  he  hacl  published  in  all  upwards  of  thirty  vol- 
umes, most  of  which  he  showed  me  by  my  request ; 
that  he  had  given  his  course  of  lectures  for  forty 
years,  and  had  then  :setired  from  the  professor's 
chair,  though  he  was  not  aware  that  his  active  pow- 
ers had  begun  seriously  to  wane.  His  son  accom- 
panied me  through  the  rooms  in  which  he  kept  his 
herbarium — the  most  extensive  in  the  world,  and 
showed  me  the  manner  in  which  the  plants  were  ar- 
ranged and  put  up.  I  was  informed  that  he  had 
been  offered  a  professorship  at  Paris,  with  an  im- 
mense salary ;  but  he  declined  the  offer  from  con- 
siderations of  mere  patriotism.  He  gave  me  a 
manuscript  of  his,  of  considerable  extent,  which  had 
been  published,  and  which  anybody  might  afford  to 
place  among  his  literary  treasures.  I  have  never 
seen  a  great  man  more  simple  and  modest,  and 
apparently  unconscious  of  his  greatness. 


XIV. 


AND 


T  HAD  heard  much  of  BLUMHAKDT  as  the  head  of 
the  missionary  school  at  Basle,  both  before  and 
after  leaving  America ;  and  while  I  was  in  Paris, 
the  Rev.  Frederick  Monod  had  given  me  a  note  of 
introduction  to  him.  Soon  after  my  arrival  in  Basle, 
I  found  my  way  to  his  residence,  and  delivered  my 
letter ;  and  much  to  my  surprise,  before  I  had  time 
to  deliver  it,  he  asked  me  if  he  had  not  the  pleas-? 
ure  of  speaking  to — calling  me  by  name  ;  the  secret 
of  which  was,  that  somebody  had  enclosed  a  letter 
to  him  for  me,  informing  him  that  I  should  prob- 
ably arrive  about  that  time.  He  received  me  with 
a  degree  of  cordiality  and  affection  that  was  as 
grateful  to  me  as  it  was  unexpected ;  and,  though 
he  was  only  fifty-six  years  old,  there  was  something 
about  his  manner  that  was  truly  patriarchal. 
Mr.  Blumhardt  was  the  founder  of  the  missionary 


98  BLUMHARDT. 

institution  over  which  he  then  presided.  It  had 
been  in  successful  operation  since  the  year  1815, 
had  sent  out  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  mis- 
sionaries, and  at  the  time  I  was  there,  numbered 
thirty-seven  students,  who  were  under  the  care  of 
three  Professors,  beside  the  Principal.  What  im- 
pressed me  first,  and  most,  in  respect  to  Blumhardt, 
was  his  admirable  Christian  simplicity,  in  connexion 
with  his  intense  devotion  to  the  work  in  which  he 
was  engaged.  He  spoke  with  great  interest  of  the 
zeal  which  was  manifested  by  the  American  churches 
in  the  cause  of  missions,  and  remarked  particularly 
upon  the  high  qualifications  of  American  ladies  to 
become  missionaries'  wives ;  and  added,  that  he 
wished  more  of  them  might  go  to  the  missionary 
stations,  that  they  might  be  taken  up  !  I  accepted 
an  invitation  from  him  to  dine  with  the  students  at 
twelve  o'clock.  I  was  introduced,  a  minute  or  two 
before  the  hour,  into  the  dining  hall ;  then  came 
Mr.  Blumhardt,  and  after  him  the  students,  and 
then  the  family  who  provided  for  them.  After  all 
had  arranged  themselves  around  the  table,  the  ven- 
erable Principal,  instead  of  asking  a  blessing,  re- 
peated a  hymn  in  German,  which  the  students  sung. 
The  dinner  was  served  up  on  pewter  plates,  and  was 
very  simple,  of  course,  as  the  charge  for  board  was 
only  about  half  a  dollar  per  week.  When  the  din- 
ner was  over,  one  of  the  students  gave  thanks  in 
verse  !  The  Principal  did  not  dine  with  us,  but 
retired  to  his  own  apartment  immediately  after  the 


BLUMHARDT.  99 

hymn  was  sung,  in  preparation  for  sitting  down  to 
the  table.  As  an  instance  of  Mr.  Bluinhardt's  con- 
siderate kindness,  I  may  mention  that  he  happened 
to  discover,  what  I  had  not  discovered  myself,  that 
I  had  torn  my  over-coat ;  and  while  I  was  at  my 
dinner  he  had  contrived  to  send  it  to  the  tailor's 
and  have  it  mended,  so  that  the  mending  should 
not  occasion  me  any  detention. 

After  having  shown  me  the  likenesses  of  all  the 
students  he  had  sent  out  into  the  missionary  field, 
he  carried  me  over  the  town,  and  pointed  out  to  me 
whatever  he  thought  most  worthy  to  be  looked  at. 
He  accompanied  me  to  the  public  library,  and  intro- 
duced me  to  Professor  Gerlach,  the  Librarian,  who 
showed  me  many  curious  and  valuable  relics  of  the 
time  of  the  Eeformation.  Professor  G.  asked  me  if 
I  knew  Mr.  Edward  Everett ;  and  then  went  on  to 
say  that  he  was  a  fellow-student  with  him  many 
years  before  at  Gottengen,  where  he  earned  many 
laurels  ;  and  when  I  told  him  of  the  eminence  to 
which  Mr.  Everett  had  since  risen,  he  seemed  to 
think  that  it  was  nothing  more  than  he  had  given 
promise  of,  twenty  years  before.  Blumhardt  intro- 
duced me  also  to  an  intimate  friend  of  Oberlin,  who 
was  full  of  interesting  anecdotes  of  that  remarkable 
man.  He  gave  me  an  engraved  likeness  of  Oberlin, 
which  he  pronounced  very  perfect ;  and  another  indi- 
vidual, shortly  after,  gave  me  a  still  rarer  treasure, 
in  one  of  his  manuscript  sermons.  Oberlin  had,  un- 
doubtedly, in  some  respects,  an  exalted  character ; 


100  VINET. 

but  he  partook  largely  of  the  German  superstitions 
of  his  time  ;  and  if  he  had  lived  at  this  day,  would 
have  been  a  firm  believer,  and  a  vigorous  defender, 
of  the  spiritual  rappings.  An  old  professor  in  the 
University  of  Strasbourg,  who  knew  him  most  inti- 
mately, assured  me  that  his  supposed  intercourse 
vith  the  spiritual  world,  through  the  medium  of 
ghosts,  &c.,  was  almost  an  every-day  matter. 

I  had  a  letter  of  introduction  to  PROFESSOR  VIKET, 
and  one  of  the  students  of  the  missionary  school 
accompanied  me  to  his  dwelling.  He  had  at  that 
time  acquired  a  great  reputation  in  Europe,  es- 
pecially on  the  Continent,  as  a  profound  theologian 
and  philosopher  ;  but  comparatively  little  was  known 
of  him  in  this  country.  In  stature  he  was  rather 
above  the  ordinary  size ;  was  firmly  and  compactly 
built ;  was  of  an  uncommonly  dark  complexion,  and 
had  an  eye  the  most  keen  and  piercing.  His  health, 
he  told  me,  was  very  imperfect,  insomuch  that  he 
was  greatly  embarrassed  in  his  literary  and  profess- 
ional engagements ;  though  I  could  then  discover 
nothing  in  his  appearance  that  indicated  it.  The 
subject  on  which  he  seemed  most  disposed  to  con- 
verse was  American  revivals  ;  and  though  he  was,  on 
the  whole,  inclined  to  think  favourably  of  them,  I 
thought  I  could  discover  in  him  some  lingering 
doubts.  He  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  examine 
the  subject  further,  and  by  the  best  light  he  could 
command,  and  wished  me  to  furnish  him  with  any 


V  I  N  E  T  .  101 

works  on  the  subject  that  could  be  relied  on  as 
testimony  in  regard  to  the  important  facts.  He 
seemed  to  look  at  the  whole  matter  with  the  eye 
of  a  philosopher,  as  well  as  a  Christian.  My  inter- 
view with  him  was  not  long ;  but  it  was  long  enough 
to  leave  upon  my  mind  an  ineffaceable  impression 
of  the  power  and  grandeur  of  his  intellect.  He 
seemed  kind  and  friendly,  and  offered  me  letters 
of  introduction  to  some  of  his  friends  in  Germany ; 
but  was  not  much  disposed  to  talk  about  common 
matters.  During  the  few  years  that  he  lived  after 
I  saw  him,  he  was  constantly  growing  in  reputation 
and  usefulness  ;  and  after  his  death,  he  was  often 
spoken  of  in  connexion  with  Chalmers,  not  only  as 
having  died  about  the  same  time,  but  as  possessing 
a  kindred  genius  and  spirit. 


XV 


fTlHE  individual  whom  I  was  most  interested  to  see 
v  in  Frankfort-on-the-Mayn,  was  DK.  PINKERTON, 
well  known  for  his  travels  in  Russia.  He  was  born 
and  educated  in  Scotland,  had  resided  in  Russia 
many  years,  and  finally  settled  at  Frankfort,  as  the 
General  Agent  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  where,  for  aught  I  know,  he  remains  to 
this  day.  Having  been  furnished  with  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  him,  I  delivered  it  shortly  after  my 
arrival  in  Frankfort,  and  it  procured  for  me  every 
attention  I  could  have  wished.  He  seemed,  at  that 
time,  to  be  about  fifty-five  years  old,  had  a  well- 
formed,  erect  person,  of  about  the  middle  size,  and 
was  the  more  interesting  to  me  from  being  an 
almost  perfect  fac-simile,  in  his  appearance,  of  one 
of  my  friends  at  home. 

When  I  first  met  him  he  was  at  his  office,  at  the 
depot  of  the  Bible  Society ;  and,  as  he  walked  with 
me  through  the  immense  establishment,  he  remarked, 


DR.    PINKERTON.  103 

in  reference  to  the  great  number  of  Bibles  they  had 
on  hand,  that  that  was  the  artillery  with  which  they 
were  prosecuting  the  war  against  rationalism.  I 
took  tea  with  him  the  same  evening,  and  had  the 
pleasure  of  an  introduction  to  his  family.  After  we 
had  disposed  of  the  two  great  subjects  of  American 
slavery  and  American  revivals,  in  both  of  which,  by 
this  time,  I  felt  myself  to  be  anything  but  a  novice, 
the  Doctor  proceeded  to  give  me  an  account  of  the 
state  of  religion  in  Germany ;  and,  though  it  is 
now  eighteen  years  since  I  had  the  conversation  with 
him,  it  may,  perhaps,  not  be  amiss  to  state  the 
substance  of  it ;  or  rather  the  substance  of  the  in- 
formation which  he  communicated  to  me.  He  stated 
that  Infidelity,  which,  in  times  past,  had  been  com- 
ing out  in  a  covert  form  from  the  chairs  of  theo- 
logical professors,  &c.,  was  then  becoming  bold  and 
impudent ;  that  an  infidel  of  great  talents,  who  was 
at  that  time  in  prison  for  writing  a  blasphemous 
novel,  had  justified  himself  by  a  reference  to  the 
"Life  of  Christ,"  by  Dr.  Paulus,  a  theological  pro- 
fessor at  Heidelberg ;  that  the  great  controversy 
thenceforward  was  to  be  between  Atheism  and 
Evangelical  Christianity ;  that  a  large  part  of  the 
good  people  of  Germany  believed  the  doctrine  of 
Universal  Kestoration,  though  they  were  rather  cau- 
tious about  openly  avowing  it ;  and,  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  lax  notions  that  prevailed  among  them 
in  respect  to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  he 
stated  that  certain  pious  young  ladies,  who  had 


104  DE.    PINKERTON. 

been  reproved  by  one  of  his  daughters  for  knitting 
on  Sunday  afternoon,  told  another  of  his  daughters 
that  they  had  profited  by  the  reproof,  inasmuch  as 
they  had  determined  to  devote  the  avails  of  their 
labours  on  Sunday  to  missionary  purposes  !  He 
gave  me  many  interesting  details  illustrative  of  the 
superstitious  tendencies  of  the  Germans,  and  espec- 
ially of  the  progress  that  was  then  making  in 
animal  magnetism ;  and  though  I  have  since  wit- 
nessed at  home  much  greater  feats  than  he  de- 
scribed, I  was  quite  confounded  by  some  of  his 
statements,  and  could  imagine  no  way  of  accounting 
for  them,  but  on  the  principle  of  jugglery.  He 
actually  performed  one  or  two  experiments  in  my 
presence,  which  seemed  to  evince  some  hidden  power 
in  nature  that  had  only  begun  to  develope  itself; 
and  though  I  did  not  think  the  Doctor  particularly 
inclined  to  be  superstitious,  much  less  to  be  in  com- 
munion with  any  evil  spirit,  I  was  quite  sure  that 
he  was  capable  of  doing  some  things  which  he  was 
as  little  able  to  account  for  as  I  was  myself.  He 
seemed  to  think  that  some  good  had  come  from  the 
doctrine  of  animal  magnetism,  especially  as  it  had 
supplied  a  satisfactory  argument  to  some  skeptical 
minds,  in  favour  of  the  immateriality  and  immor- 
tality of  the  soul.  The  system  of  homoeopathy, 
which  was  then  scarcely  known  in  this  country, 
had  attained  considerable  notoriety  in  Germany ; 
and  the  Doctor  expounded  to  me  its  leading  prin- 
ciples, and  was  evidently  inclined  to  the  opinion 


DR.    PINKERTON.  105 

that  it  was  destined  to  mark  an  epoch  in  the  his- 
tory of  medicine.  Indeed,  he  had  provided  him- 
self with  the  largest  and  most  splendid  box  of  the 
infinitesimals  which  I  remember  ever  to  have  seen ; 
and  I  actually  submitted  to  be  dosed  by  him,  though 
I  could  not  say  that  the  result  proved  anything, 
either  for  or  against  the  new  system.  During  my 
brief  stay  in  Frankfort,  Dr.  Pinkerton  rendered  me 
every  possible  attention,  and  I  retain  to  this  day  a 
most  grateful  remembrance  of  him  and  his  amiable 
and  accomplished  family. 

There  was  another  clergyman  whom  I  saw  at 
Frankfort,  of  considerable  distinction,  to  whom  I 
was  introduced  by  a  letter  from  Professor  Merle 
D'Aubigne,  of  Geneva— it  was  the  Kev.  Mr.  Bon- 
net— himself  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Geneva,  and 
educated  at  the  University  of  Basle.  He  was  ex- 
ceedingly urbane,  intelligent  and  obliging.  He  gave 
me  a  most  deplorable  account  of  the  religious  state 
of  things  in  Frankfort,  and  assured  me  that  the 
great  truths  of  Christianity  were  completely  over- 
looked in  most  of  the  Protestant  Churches.  He 
took  me  to  see  a  venerable  and  somewhat  celebrated 
man,  Dr.  Meyer,  who  was  the  author  of  many  im- 
portant works,  and  among  others,  of  a  revised  edition 
of  Luther's  Bible.  He  seemed  to  be,  as  I  was  as- 
sured he  was,  a  very  devout  Christian,  and  a  man 
of  great  learning ;  but,  in  regard  to  the  doctrine 
of  retribution,  it  was  thought  that  he  held  a  some- 
what equivocal  attitude.  Mr.  Bonnet,  in  order  to 

5* 


106  DR.     PINKERTON. 

give  me  the  best  view  of  the  city,  ascended  with 
me  the  tower  of  an  ancient  church ;  and,  after  we 
had  gone  up  two  hundred  feet,  we  found  an  old 
man  and  woman  as  snugly  domesticated  there,  as 
any  couple  that  could  have  been  found  on  the  terra 
firma  below.  The  old  man  might  be  said  to  hold 
a  high  official  station ;  for  not  only  was  he  elevated 
a  good  distance  above  the  rest  of  the  world,  but  he 
was  also  holding  the  office  of  an  alarmist,  in  case  of 
fire.  When  I  expressed  to  him  my  surprise  on 
hearing  that  they  had  lived  there  five  years — "Oh," 
said  he,  "  That 's  nothing ;  there  is  a  steeple  yonder 
upon  which  we  have  lived  nineteen  1" 


XVI. 


AND 


acquaintances  which  I  formed  at  Weimar 
were  so  associated  with  certain  incidents  con- 
nected with  my  visit  there,  that  it  is  not  easy  for 
me  to  avoid  saying  something  of  the  latter,  in 
order  to  furnish  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  former. 
I  reached  Weimar,  the  far-famed  seat  of  intel- 
lectual refinement  and  residence  of  distinguished 
men,  at  three  o'clock  of  a  cold  February  morning. 
As  the  conductor  of  the  diligence  knew  I  wished  to 
stop  there,  I  took  for  granted  that  he  would  at  least 
drop  me  at  an  hotel ;  but  I  found,  to  my  conster- 


108  D  K  .     R  0  E  H  R  . 

nation,  that  lie  had  actually  set  me  down  at  the 
post-office,  and  that  there  was  not  a  person  there 
who  understood  even  French.  When  I  discovered 
what  my  condition  was,  I  ran  to  the  diligence  to 
ask  the  only  person  in  it  who  could  speak  French, 
to  request  some  one  at  the  post-office  to  direct  me 
to  an  hotel ;  but  that  moment  the  cracking  of  the 
whip  announced  that  the  unwieldy  old  carriage  was 
on  its  way  to  Leipsig,  while  I  was  left  dumb  among 
a  set  of  people  whose  tongues  had  been  trained  to 
nothing  but  German.  I  noticed,  however,  at  that 
moment,  that  one  of  the  passengers  who  had  per- 
secuted me  by  smoking  all  the  way  from  Frank- 
fort, had  left  the  coach,  and,  I  supposed,  would  be 
looking  out  for  a  place  to  sleep.  Though  I  did  not 
know  but  he  was  going  straight  home,  I  deter- 
mined, as  a  last  resort,  to  hold  on  to  his  skirt ; 
and  even  if  it  should  turn  out  that  he  brought  up 
at  his  own  door,  I  intended  to  make  all  the  ex- 
ternal demonstrations  of  distress  I  could,  to  induce 
him  to  give  me  a  shelter  till  I  could  find  accommo- 
dations elsewhere.  Fortunately  for  me,  however,  he 
wanted  lodgings  himself  at  an  hotel,  and  knew  where 
to  go  for  them ;  and  after  walking  a  few  steps — I 
keeping  at  his  side — he  rang  a  bell,  which  quickly 
brought  a  servant  to  the  door.  I  was  not  perfectly 
sure,  even  then,  that  I  was  at  an  inn ;  but,  after 
a  few  words  of  conversation  between  him  and  the 
servant,  we  were  both  admitted  into  the  house  and 
shown  into  a  chamber  in  which  there  were  two 


DR.    EOEHR.  109 

beds  ;  and  I  immediately  threw  myself  into  one  of 
them,  and  knew  nothing  more  until  I  was  awaked 
in  the  morning,  by  the  servant  coming  to  inquire 
if  we  wanted  breakfast.  I  said,  with  as  much 
confidence  as  if  I  had  lived  all  my  life  in  Paris, 
"  Parlez  vous  Frangais  ?"  "  Oui,  Monsieur,"  was  the 
prompt  reply.  "  Parlez  vous  Anglais  ?"  "  Oui,  Mon- 
sieur," was  again  the  delightful  answer ;  but  sadly 
was  I  disappointed  to  find  that  the  fellow  knew 
not  enough  even  of  French  to  comprehend  the  ques- 
tions I  had  put  to  him.  I  succeeded,  however,  in 
making  him  understand  the  difficult  proposition, 
that  I  wanted  breakfast,  and  supposed  also  that  I 
had  got  through  his  hair  the  somewhat  more  def- 
inite idea  that  I  wanted  three  eggs  ;  but  what  was 
my  surprise  at  the  demonstration  of  his  intelli- 
gence, which  he  quickly  made,  by  bringing  me  three 
small  loaves  of  bread  !  I  found  it  easy  to  forgive 
him,  however,  as  he  treated  me  to  a  good  laugh ; 
and  more  than  that,  he  showed  his  substantial  good 
will  by  making  some  effort  to  meet  my  necessities. 
While  I  was  at  my  breakfast,  there  came  up  a  very 
respectable  looking  young  man,  who  told  me  that 
the  servant  had  mentioned  to  him  that  there  was 
an  English  gentleman  there,  who  could  not  speak 
German,  and  wished  for  some  one  to  interpret ;  and 
that  he  had  come  in  to  offer  his  services.  I  very 
gladly  availed  myself  of  them,  and  thought  of  no- 
thing but  that  I  had  engaged  a  regular  guide,  at 
the  rate  of  a  Prussian  dollar  a  day. 


110  DR.     R  O  E  H  R  . 

Accordingly,  we  sallied  out  shortly  after  break- 
fast, and  the  first  person  upon  whom  I  called  was 
Dr.  Koehr,  the  celebrated  preacher  of  Weimar,  and 
one  of  the  most  eminent  of  all  the  German  Ra- 
tionalists. I  told  my  guide  that  he  might  remain 
outside  the  door,  and,  if  it  turned  out  that  he  was 
wanted  as  an  interpreter,  I  would  give  him  notice. 
I  had  a  note  to  Dr.  Roehr  from  Cheneviere  of 
Geneva,  who  was,  in  all  respects,  a  kindred  spirit ; 
but  whom  I  found  very  gentlemanly,  and  much  dis- 
posed to  show  me  good  offices.  The  Doctor  hap- 
pened to  be  in  his  library,  engaged  in  his  studies  ; 
but  he  received  me  with  great  courtesy,  and  seemed 
desirous  of  doing  what  he  could  to  make  my 
visit  agreeable.  Our  conversation,  which  was  half 
French,  half  English,  was  principally  about  the  em- 
inent men  of  Weimar ;  the  last  of  whom,  Goethe, 
had  then  just  departed ;  and  he  showed  me  the 
likenesses  of  some  of  them,  which  he  seemed  to  have 
treasured  with  great  care  and  reverence.  He  was 
a  person  of  grave,  venerable  aspect,  of  agreeable 
manners,  and  was  reckoned,  at  that  time,  as  one 
of  the  great  lights  in  his  school  of  theology.  He 
expressed  great  regret  that  we  had  no  common 
medium  of  free  communication,  and  said  that  the 
best  service  he  could  render  me  was  to  introduce 
me  to  a  Dr.  Weissenborn,  a  German  teacher  of 
English,  who,  besides  having  a  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  English  language,  was  a  most  obliging  and 
friendly  man.  I  found  Dr.  W.,  in  all  respects,  what 


DR.    FEOKIEP.  Ill 

Dr.  Koehr  had  represented  him,  and  was  indebted 
to  him  then,  as  I  have  been  since,  for  some  very 
kind  attentions,  and  even  important  services. 

I  made  several  calls,  in  the  course  of  the  morn- 
ing, under  the  direction  of  my  volunteer  guide,  and 
at  twelve  o'clock  he  remarked  that  he  believed  he 
must  excuse  himself,  as  he  had  an  engagement  at 
that  hour.  I  handed  him  a  dollar,  and  he  asked 
me  what  it  was  for.  "For  your  services  this  morn- 
ing," said  I.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  I  discover- 
ed my  mistake  in  supposing  that  he  was  one  of 
the  professional  guides.  It  turned  out  that  he  was 
a  young  gentleman  of  a  highly  respectable  family 
at  Frankfort,  and  that  he  was  then  on  a  visit  to 
a  young  lady  at  Weimar,  to  whom  he  was  engaged 
to  be  married ;  and  as  he  gave  me  a  narrative, 
showing  that  his  courtship  had  not  been,  through- 
out, a  matter  of  plain  sailing,  I  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  returning  his  kind  offices,  not  only  with 
sympathy,  but,  as  he  requested  it,  with  a  little 
advice.  He  did  not  seem  to  take  my  mistake  in 
dudgeon,  and  remarked  that  it  was  quite  natural 
that  I  should  have  made  it. 

-I  was  desirous,  for  some  particular  reasons,  of 
seeing  Dr.  Froriep,  a  celebrated  geographer.  I  had 
no  particular  introduction  to  him ;  but  I  ventured 
to  call  upon  him  on  the  strength  of  my  general 
introductions.  I  handed  him  several  letters,  but 
he  seemed  to  care  little  for  any,  except  one  from 
General  Jackson,  which  he  read,  despite  of  German 


112  .        DK.    FKOBIEP. 

etiquette,  two  or  three  times  over,  and  remarked 
that  it  was  most  felicitously  written.  He  immedi- 
ately took  me  in  charge,  and  devoted  the  rest  of 
the  day  to  me,  which  was  the  greater  favour,  as 
he  had  the  perfect  command  of  my  mother  tongue. 
He  carried  me  in  his  carriage,  all  over  town,  point- 
ing out  to  me  the  residences  of  Herder,  Schiller, 
Weiland,  and  Goethe,  all  of  whom  he  had  known 
well.  Griesbach,  too,  had  been  his  intimate  friend, 
and  he  gave  me  a  pleasant  memorial  of  him.  I 
took  tea  with  him  in  the  evening,  when  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  his  wife  and  daughter.  He 
asked  me  if  I  was  willing  that  they  should  see  the 
"remarkable*  letter  of  General  Jackson,  which  I 
had  shown  him  in  the  morning ;  and  after  they 
had  read  it,  he  took  it  and  went  into  an  adjoin- 
ing room,  and  made  a  copy  of  it ;  and  when  he 
returned  it  to  me,  repeated,  for  the  third  or  fourth 
time,  that  it  was  "really  a  remarkable  letter."  He 
expressed  great  interest  in  our  American  institutions, 
and  seemed  familiar  with  the  names  and  characters 
of  many  of  our  great  men — Everett,  Ticknor,  Hen- 
ry Dwight,  and  several  others,  he  knew  personally, 
and  expressed  great  regard  for  them.  Madame 
Froriep  spoke  in  terms  of  great  reverence  and  af- 
fection of  Herder,  and  said  that  he  was  the  clergy- 
man who  officiated  at  her  marriage. 

Dr.  Weissenborn,  the  teacher  to  whom  Dr.  Eoehr 
had  introduced  me,  offered  to  make  me  acquainted 
with  Madame  de  Goethe,  the  daughter-in-law  of 


MADAME    DE    GOETHE.  113 

the  great  poet,  who  occupied  the  house  in  which 
he  had  always  lived.  We  were  actually  on  our 
way  to  call  upon  her,  when  we  met  her  in  some- 
thing that  resembled  a  litter,  borne  by  two  men 
— a  convenience,  I  suppose,  for  avoiding  the  mud 
in  the  streets.  As  soon  as  she  alighted,  and  went 
into  her  mother's  house,  Dr.  W.  sent  in  to  inquire 
at  what  hour  she  would  find  it  convenient  to  re- 
ceive me,  and  she  mentioned  five  o'clock  in  the  af- 
ternoon. I  accordingly  went  at  that  hour ;  and  she 
met  me  with  a  frank,  good-natured  air,  that  put 
me  at  my  ease  in  a  moment.  As  I  had  no  par- 
ticular introduction  to  her,  I  showed  her  the  Gen- 
eral's letter,  which  had  already  come  into  great 
repute,  and  she  too  read  it  with  no  small  inter- 
est. She  was  a  most  agreeable  and  intelligent  per- 
son, and  was  the  mother  of  three  children,  the 
two  younger  of  whom  were  so  strikingly  like  their 
grandfather,  that  I  recognized  their  resemblance  to 
his  portrait  the  moment  I  saw  them.  Mrs.  Jamie- 
son,  the  English  authoress,  was  at  that  time  do- 
mesticated with  her,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
making  her  acquaintance  also.  Madame  de  Goethe 
brought  out  several  little  memorials  of  her  illus- 
trious father-in-law,  intending  to  give  me  one  of 
them ;  and,  as  she  selected  that  which  she  con- 
sidered most  valuable,  she  asked  Mrs.  Jamieson 
whether  she  did  not  think  that  she  could  afford  to 
spare  that,  but  at  the  same  moment  put  into  her 
hands  my  letter  from  General  Jackson,  telling  her 


114 


MADAME    DE    GOETHE. 


not  to  answer  her  question  till  she  had  read  that 
letter.  The  result  was,  that  the  choice  relic  was 
made  over  to  me.  I  spent  but  twenty-four  hours 
in  Weimar ;  but  it  was  certainly  a  multum  in  parvo 
visit. 


XVII. 


&0. 


fTIHE  first  person  on  whom  I  called,  on  my  arrival 
in  Halle,  was  Professor  THOLUCK.  My  reason  for 
this  was  not  merely  that  I  felt  a  deeper  interest  in  his 
character  than  in  that  of  any  other  person  at  Halle, 
(there  were  few,  indeed,  of  whom  I  knew  anything,) 
but  that  I  had  previously  had  some  little  correspond- 
ence with  him,  which  gave  me  a  claim  to  recognise 
him  almost  as  an  acquaintance.  In  his  appearance 
and  manners,  he  was  quite  a  different  person  from 
what  I  had  expected.  He  was  rather  above  the 
medium  height,  of  a  slender  frame,  and  of  an  easy, 
flexible  habit.  He  did  not  complain  of  ill  health  ;  but 
his  face,  at  that  time,  was  pale,  and  looked  as  if  he 
were  used  to  trimming  the  midnight  lamp.  As  I  had 
been  accustomed  to  associate  with  him  the  idea  of  a 
reformer,  I  supposed  I  should  find  him  more  than 


116  T  H  O  L  U  C  K  . 

ordinarily  grave  and  demure,  and  somewhat  a  man  of 
one  idea  ;  but  instead  of  that,  I  found  him  cheerful, 
versatile,  and  highly  communicative  as  well  as  intelli- 
gent, on  every  subject  that  came  up.  His  wife  had 
died  not  long  before,  and  his  sister  was  then  keeping 
house  for  him ;  and  she,  with  two  or  three  students, 
who  were  boarders,  constituted  his  entire  family.  Dur- 
ing the  four  or  five  days  that  I  spent  in  Halle,  I  saw 
much  of  him,  and  had  a  good  opportunity,  in  some 
respects  at  least,  of  appreciating  his  character.  No- 
thing about  him  struck  me  more  forcibly  than  his  won- 
derful simplicity.  One  would  have  supposed,  from  his 
general  appearance,  that  he  was  utterly  unconscious  of 
both  his  position  and  his  power ;  and  yet,  whenever 
his  mind  was  directed  to  any  subject  of  importance,  it 
was  wonderful  with  what  energy  it  acted,  and  how  he 
seemed  to  have  everything  at  command  that  bore 
upon  it.  The  subject  that  seemed  uppermost  in  his 
thoughts  was  the  motley  and  anomalous  religious  state 
of  things  in  his  own  country.  He  mentioned  to  me 
the  names  of  certain  German  Professors,  who  had  not 
only  a  European,  but  a  world-wide  reputation,  whose 
lectures  upon  the  Bible,  though  very  able  and  learned, 
were  sometimes  little  better  than  blasphemous  satires 
upon  the  Word  of  God.  He  considered,  however,  that 
the  religious  prospects  of  Germany  were,  on  the  whole, 
brightening,  and  supposed  that,  from  that  time,  the 
great  conflict  would  be  between  Pantheism  and  Evan- 
gelical Religion.  He  had  himself  suffered  much  for  his 
bold  avowal  and  earnest  vindication  of  what  he  consid- 


GESENIUS.  117 

ered  the  true  Christian  doctrine  ;  but  he  was  evidently 
then  much  in  the  ascendant ;  and  I  was  assured 
that  there  was  no  clergyman  in  the  region,  whose 
preaching  commanded  so  much  attention  and  respect 
as  his. 

I  attended  one  of  Tholuck's  lectures  ;  but  as  it  was  in 
German,  everything  but  the  manner  was  lost  upon  me. 
He  read  it  sentence  by  sentence,  with  the  utmost  de- 
liberation ;  and  the  students  meanwhile,  (sixty-four  in 
number,  if  I  counted  right,)  all  became  vigorous  scribes. 
He  would  occasionally,  however,  extemporize  a  few  sen- 
tences, and  then  he  spoke  more  rapidly,  and  with  a 
good  degree  of  animation.  I  noticed  that  there  was 
something  written  in  German  characters  on  the  desk, 
immediately  in  front  of  my  seat,  and  on  inquiring  of 
an  English  gentleman  who  accompanied  me,  and  who 
could  read  German,  what  it  was,  he  translated  it  thus  : 
"  Tholuck  is  a  mad  herring  and  a  crazy  fellow."  He 
mentioned  to  me,  at  the  same  time,  that  in  another 
lecture-room  it  was  written — "  Tholuck  is  immeasur- 
ably fanatical."  These  significant  testimonials,  how- 
ever, were  supposed  to  have  been  recorded  some  time 
before,  when  they  were  much  more  expressive  of  the 
general  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  than  they 
were  at  that  time. 

GESENIUS  was  a  still  greater  surprise  to  me  than 
Tholuck.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  heard  of  him, 
in  connection  with  Hebrew,  almost  as  far  back  as  I 
knew  that  there  was  such  a  language  ;  and  I  was  pre- 


118  GESENIUS. 

pared  to  find  deep  furrows  all  over  his  face,  winch  my 
imagination,  without  any  great  effort,  could  turn  into 
Hebrew  letters.  But  instead  of  that,  I  found  him 
looking  as  if  he  were  not  more  than  forty  or  forty-five 
years  old ;  rapid  beyond  measure  in  his  movements  ; 
with  nothing  to  indicate  that  he  had  ever  been  accus- 
tomed to  intense  thought ;  with  a  bright,  cheerful, 
amiable  countenance  ;  with  a  mind  awake  to  every 
thing  humorous  and  laughable  ;  with  a  heart  appa- 
rently glowing  with  kindness,  and  with  manners  the 
most  unstudied  and  familiar.  I  had  once  received  a 
letter  from  him  ;  and  when  he  heard  my  name,  he  re- 
membered the  circumstance  of  his  having  written  to 
me  ;  and  upon  the  strength  of  it,  gave  me  the  most 
cordial  of  greetings,  actually  shaking  hands  with  me 
three  times  over.  When  he  knew  that  I  was  to  remain 
for  a  few  days  in  Halle,  he  remarked  that  he  had  his 
classes  to  attend  to  during  certain  hours  of  each  day, 
and  that  all  the  rest  of  the  time  I  might  command  his 
services  in  any  way  that  should  be  most  agreeable  to 
me. 

He  was  true  to  his  word,  and  devoted  the  leisure  of 
three  days  to  rne  almost  exclusively.  He  took  me  to 
see  every  object  of  curiosity  that  he  thought  would 
interest  me,  and  introduced  me  to  various  persons,  by 
whose  acquaintance  I  should  be  most  likely  to  profit. 
He  seemed  to  me  one  of  the  most  inveterate  lovers  of 
fun  that  I  ever  met.  He  had  treasured  a  vast  number 
of  humorous  anecdotes,  which  he  knew  how  to  dispense 
on  all  fitting  occasions,  and  with  an  admirable  grace. 


GESENIUS.  119 

| 

His  English  was,  by  no  means,  as  good  as  that  of  Tho- 
luck,  though  I  understood  him  with  perfect  ease  ;  but 
I  remember,  once  or  twice,  his  bringing  forth  a  word, 
after  considerable  effort  at  recollection,  which  was  so 
far  out  of  the  way,  that  it  required  still  greater  effort 
on  my  part,  of  a  different  kind,  in  order  to  maintain  a 
decent  gravity.  He  seemed  to  be  aware  that  he  was 
not  a  very  thorough  master  of  English  ;  though  this 
did  not  at  all  embarrass  him,  as  he  was  utterly  reckless 
of  all  mistakes. 

He  said  nothing  in  my  hearing  that  reflected,  in  the 
least,  upon  evangelical  religion,  or  its  advocates  ;  on 
the  contrary,  he  spoke  of  Tholuck  in  terms  of  high  and 
apparently  cordial  respect.  But  it  was  very  well  un- 
derstood that  his  sympathies,  from  being  rationalistic, 
had  become  pantheistic  ;  and  that  he  expounded  the 
Scriptures  as  a  critic,  and  not  as  a  believer.  I  at- 
tended one  of  his  lectures,  which,  I  think,  was  on  a 
part  of  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  ;  and  though  I  under- 
stood not  a  word  of  it,  there  was  abundant  evidence 
that  he  was  turning  the  passage  that  formed  the  basis 
of  his  lecture  into  ridicule  ;  for,  at  brief  intervals, 
throughout  the  lecture,  he  would  say  something  that 
would  throw  the  whole  class  into  a  broad  laugh,  in 
which  he  would  himself  join  most  heartily.  The  Eng- 
lish gentleman,  to  whom  I  have  already  referred,  told 
me  that  he  was  present  at  one  of  his  lectures  a  short 
time  before,  when,  after  having  spoken  somewhat  at 
length  on  the  vestments  of  the  High  Priest,  he  sud- 
denly exhibited  a  doll,  in  the  most  fantastic  dress,  in 


120  GESENIUS. 

order,  as  he  said,  to  give  them  some  idea  of  the  sacer- 
dotal robes.  The  effect  was,  as  he  evidently  intended 
it  should  be,  to  convulse  the  students  with  laughter. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  an  introduction  to  BARON 
FOUQUET,  the  celebrated  German  poet.  He  seemed  to 
be  about  sixty  years  old,  was  a  short,  neat-looking 
man  ;  and  I  was  not  sure  but  that  he  was  handsome, 
though  the  immense  amount  of  hair  upon  his  face  ren- 
dered it  impossible  for  me  to  decide.  He  spoke  but  a 
few  words  of  English,  though  the  gentleman  who  in- 
troduced me  to  him  was  able  to  act  as  an  interpreter. 
I  was  told  that  both  he  and  his  wife — a  most  re- 
spectable looking  lady,  of  not  much  more  than  half 
his  own  age — were  decidedly  evangelical  in  their  views 
and  feelings  ;  and  I  should  have  inferred  as  much  in 
respect  to  him,  from  some  of  his  remarks.  He  showed 
me  the  portrait  of  his  grandfather,  who  was  a  dis- 
tinguished General  in  the  Prussian  army  under  Fred- 
erick the  Great,  and  withal  was  one  of  the  King's 
intimate  friends,  as  was  proved  by  a  large  bundle  of 
letters  which  the  King  addressed  to  him,  one  of  which 
the  Baron  was  so  kind  as  to  present  to  me.  Before 
I  left  him  he  asked  me  to  go  into  his  study,  that 
I  might  associate  him  in  my  recollection  with  the 
place  where  he  performed  his  literary  labors.  He 
offered  to  give  me  letters  to  some  of  his  friends  in 
Berlin,  and  I  gladly  availed  myself  of  his  kind- 
ness. 

I  saw  several  other  highly  respectable   persons   at 


WEGSCHEIDER.  121 

Halle,  some  of  whom  were  well  worth  being  remem- 
bered. I  had  an  introduction  to  Dr.  WEGSCHEIDER, 
a  short,  indifferent,  sober  looking  man,  who,  though 
a  professor  in  some  branch  of  theology,  was  not 
much  more,  I  understood,  than  a  serious,  respectable 
Deist.  I  heard  him  deliver  a  lecture,  which  was  made 
up  of  about  equal  parts  of  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew, 
and  read  as  doggedly  as  if  the  lifting  of  his  eyes  from 
his  manuscript  had  been  a  capital  offence.  I  saw 
Professor  G-RUBAR  also,  a  highly  accomplished  gen- 
tleman, apparently  about  sixty,  whose  intelligent  and 
generous  face  reminded  me  of  that  of  the  late  Presi- 
dent Kirkland.  I  met  also  with  Dr.  FRI^DLANDER, 
the  celebrated  professor  of  medicine,  and  Dr.  KOEDDI- 
GER,  the  great  Oriental  scholar,  the  latter  of  whom 
particularly  showed  himself  extremely  amiable  and 
obliging.  I  became  acquainted  also  with  NIEMEYER, 
the  son  of  the  celebrated  Chancellor  of  the  Univer- 
sity,*who  took  me  through  the  famous  Orphan  House, 
established  about  a  hundred  years  before  by  Franke, 
and,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  most  extensive  institution 
of  the  kind  in  the  world.  He  introduced  me  to  his 
mother,  a  lady  far  advanced  in  life,  but  distinguished 
for  her  intelligence,  and  highly  attractive  even  in  her 
old  age.  She  had  been  acquainted  with  a  large  part 
of  the  distinguished  men  of  Germany,  during  the  fifty 
years  preceding,  and,  by  her  striking  anecdotes  and 
vivid  descriptions,  gave  me  a  better  idea  of  many  of 
them  than  I  had  had  before.  Wieland,  Schiller, 
Goethe,  and  many  others  of  equal  note,  had  been  her 

6 


122  NIEMEYER. 

intimate  friends ;  and  the  grace  and  elegance  with 
which  she  talked  of  them,  showed  how  well  fitted 
she  was  to  adorn  such  society.  She  seemed  withal  a 
very  benevolent  person,  and  last,  though  with  me 
not  least,  she  was  perfectly  familiar  with  my  mother- 
tongue. 


XVIII 


T  AM    not    sure    that    I    had    ever    heard  of   Dr. 

•*•  HEUBNER  until  Professor  Tholuck  mentioned  his 
name  to  me  at  Halle,  and  told  me  that  he  was 
one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  earnest  friends  of  Evan- 
gelical Christianity,  and  that  I  should  do  myself 
great  injustice  if  I  should  pass  Wittenberg,  his 
residence,  without  seeing  him.  As  Wittenberg  had 
other  attractions,  on  the  score  of  its  religious  and 
historical  associations,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I 
would  stop  there  ;  and  it  so  happened  that  I  ar- 
rived there  at  daybreak  on  Saturday  morning,  and 
found  it  convenient  to  remain  over  the  Sabbath. 

I  called  and  delivered  my  letter  to  Dr.  Heubner, 
soon  after  breakfast,  and  found  him  the  very  quint- 
essence of  everything  kind  and  amiable.  He  met  me 
so  affectionately,  that  it  really  seemed  unnatural,  as  I 
had  never  seen  him  before  ;  but  when  I  looked  him 
in  the  face,  I  read  there  a  certificate  to  the  perfect 


124  DR.    HEUBNEB. 

sincerity  of  all  his  kind  expressions.  He  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Wittenberg,  and, 
I  believe,  was  a  stated  preacher  there  also.  He  was 
a  man  of  moderate  size,  apparently  between  fifty  and 
sixty  years  of  age,  with  nothing  particularly  strik- 
ing in  his  face,  except  that  it  was  perfectly  irradi- 
ated with  kindly  feeling.  It  was  a  disappointment 
to  me  that  he  could  not  speak  English ;  and  a  still 
greater  disappointment  to  be  assured  that  there  was 
only  one  person  in  the  town  that  could  speak  it ; 
and  the  greatest  disappointment  of  all  was,  when  I 
succeeded  in  hunting  up  that  one,  to  find  that  his 
English  was  only  an  apology  for  English,  and  that, 
as  a  medium  of  communication,  it  was  a  good  deal 
worse  than  my  French.  Dr.  Heubner  expressed  great 
regret  to  me  that  a  large  part  of  his  preparation 
for  the  Sabbath  was  yet  to  be  made,  so  that  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  accompany  me  to  see  the  dif- 
ferent objects  of  interest,  as  he  wished ;  but  said  he 
would  soon  send  a  person  to  act  as  my  guide,  who 
was  perfectly  familiar  with  all  the  localities,  and 
would  render  me  every  service  I  should  require. 
When  the  person  came,  he  proved  to  be  an  elderly 
man,  I  should  suppose  over  sixty,  very  well  dressed, 
and  yet  looking  somehow  as  if  he  had  put  on  his 
best  clothes  for  an  occasion.  I  took  for  granted 
that  the  best  I  could  expect  of  him  was  that  he 
should  speak  French,  and  addressed  him  accord- 
ingly ;  but  was  met  with  the  ominous  shake  of 
the  head,  indicating  that  that  was  farther  than  he 


DR.    HEUBNEE.  125 

had  ever  penetrated.  Not  knowing  what  anomalous 
event  might  have  overtaken  me,  I  asked  him,  al- 
most despairingly,  whether  he  spoke  English ;  and 
he  looked  at  me  as  if  he  had  detected  some  symp- 
toms of  hallucination,  and,  by  a  still  more  vigor- 
ous shake  of  the  head,  answered  "No."  I  began 
to  think  that  if  I  had  not  a  blind  guide,  I  had,  at 
least,  a  dumb  one  ;  when,  to  my  utter  astonishment, 
he  began  to  address  me  in  Latin,  and  spoke  it  as 
fluently  as  any  one  need  to  speak  his  mother-tongue. 
I  happened  to  be  acquainted  with  the  German  pro- 
nunciation of  Latin,  so  that  I  could  understand  him 
without  much  difficulty ;  and,  though  I  had  never 
been  trained  to  converse  in  Latin,  I  was  surprised 
to  find  that,  when  the  stern  hand  of  necessity  was 
laid  upon  me,  and  I  was  obliged  to  speak  that  or 
nothing,  I  could  frame  Latin  sentences,  such  as  they 
were,  without  any  considerable  hesitation.  We  start- 
ed off  with  our  Latin  tongues  in  our  mouths  ;  but 
the  old  man  had  one  great  advantage  of  me — he 
could  speak  correctly  as  well  as  fluently,  as  I  could 
not ;  and,  though  I  watched  his  countenance  for  the 
evidence  that  I  was  making  fun  for  him  by  my 
blunders,  there  was  not  a  single  look  from  which  I 
should  have  known  that  I  was  not  the  best  Latin 
scholar  in  Germany.  He  took  me  to  see  what  every 
one  who  goes  to  Wittenberg  sees — namely,  Luther's 
cell,  (study,)  where  his  writing-table — all  hacked  up 
by  a  thousand  thievish  visitors,  his  music,  and  other 
relics  of  him,  still  remain  ;  the  spot  designated  by  a 


126  DR.     HEUBNER. 

tree  where  he  burnt  the  Pope's  bull ;  the  house  in 
which  Melancthon  lived ;  and,  finally,  the  church  be- 
neath which  the  ashes  of  both  Luther  and  Melanc- 
thon repose.  All  this  time  I  was  utterly  ignorant 
of  the  character  of  my  guide,  not  knowing  whether 
he  was  a  man  of  high  or  low  degree  ;  and  I  felt 
somewhat  embarrassed  as  to  the  question  whether 
I  should  consider  him  merely  as  a  friend  of  Dr. 
Heubner,  or  some  humble  individual,  who  would  ex- 
pect me  to  pay  him  for  his  services.  As  I  preferred, 
however,  to  run  the  hazard  of  a  mistake  on  the  safer 
side  of  the  alternative,  I  ventured  to  slip  into  his 
hand  what  I  supposed  was  a  suitable  compensation, 
and  he  accepted  it  very  thankfully.  I  afterwards 
found  that  he  had  been  a  lawyer,  but  was  broken 
down  and  had  lost  his  property,  and  was  at  that 
time  the  sexton  of  one  of  the  churches. 

Sunday  morning,  I  went  to  hear  Dr.  Heubner 
preach,  in  the  very  church  where  the  great  Luther 
used  to  lift  up  a  voice  that  penetrated  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  As  I  went  to  the  church  without  a 
guide,  I  passed  directly  into  the  gallery,  and  took 
my  seat  at  random.  As  I  perceived  that  I  was 
looked  at  apparently  as  an  object  of  curiosity,  and 
the  boys  around  me  were  even  in  a  broad  laugh, 
and  as  I  perceived  also  that  there  were  two  written 
or  printed  notices  lying  on  the  board  before  me,  I 
suspected  that  I  had,  in  my  ignorance,  taken  a  seat 
that  belonged  to  some  of  the  officers  of  the  church, 
and  I  immediately  rose  and  took  another  seat  still 


DR.    HEUBNER.  127 

nearer  the  boys,  and,  as  it  finally  turned  out,  in  the 
midst  of  them.  The  little  urchins  still  kept  laugh- 
ing, and  looked  at  me  with  as  much  surprise  as  if 
I  had  dropped  down  from  another  planet.  One  of 
them,  who  sat  near  me,  whispered  to  me  in  bad 
French,  and  offered  me  his  book ;  but,  as  I  had  seen 
the  little  rogue  laughing  at  me  immoderately,  I  con- 
fess I  did  not  feel  greatly  in  the  mood  of  exchang- 
ing or  even  accepting  any  civilities.  At  length  Dr. 
Heubner  commenced  the  service,  and  preached  with 
great  animation,  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  to  those  who 
understood  him,  with  great  interest.  Once  or  twice, 
in  the  course  of  the  service,  there  was  a  pause,  ap- 
parently for  the  congregation  to  spend  a  moment  in 
silent  prayer ;  and  everybody,  not  excepting  my 
little  neighbours,  who  were  trifling  during  the  ser- 
vice, put  their  heads  down  as  if  in  devotion ;  and 
one  of  them  I  saw,  while  his  head  was  down,  still 
turning  his  eyes  towards  me  with  a  smile.  There 
was  a  very  large  congregation,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion I  have  noted,  a  very  attentive  one. 

I  dined  with  Dr.  Heubner  according  to  previous 
engagement,  when  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
his  family,  and  two  or  three  others,  among  whom 
was  a  Mr.  Kothe,  a  very  agreeable  man,  who  was 
associate  Professor  with  him  in  the  Theological  Sem- 
inary. Here  I  found  myself  in  a  highly  intelligent 
circle,  not  one  of  whom  could  speak  a  word  of  Eng- 
lish, and  who  wished  to  talk  with  me,  not  about 
what  I  Would  have  for  breakfast  or  dinner,  or  on  kin- 


128  DR.    HEUBNER. 

dred  themes,  on  which  I  felt  myself  pretty  well  at 
home  in  French  ;  but  upon  some  subjects  compara- 
tively abstract,  where  I  knew  that  my  French  must 
be  an  utter  failure.  I,  however,  did  as  well  as  I 
could ;  but  I  knew  how  well  I  was  doing,  if  in  no 
other  way,  from  observing  in  the  countenances  of 
the  young  ladies  a  very  decided  conflict  between 
the  sense  of  the  decent  and  the  sense  of  the  ludi- 
crous ;  and,  as  I  knew  that  the  bell  was  to  ring  for 
church  at  two,  I  watched  the  clock  with  the  most 
intense  interest,  until  it  finally  struck  the  hour  of 
my  relief.  When  we  rose  from  the  dinner-table, 
the  company,  to  my  astonishment,  fell  to  kissing 
and  shaking  hands  with  each  other ;  and  I  had 
nothing  to  do  but  walk  up,  and,  so  far  as  the 
shaking  of  hands  was  concerned,  take  part  in  the 
ceremony.  Dr.  Heubner  accompanied  me  to  church 
in  the  afternoon,  and  we  heard  a  sermon  delivered, 
without  much  animation,  by  Archdeacon  Selfisch. 
As  soon  as  he  had  finished  his  sermon,  he  left  the 
pulpit,  and  the  congregation  commenced  singing ; 
and,  when  they  ceased,  what  else  should  I  hear  than 
the  voice  of  the  preacher  from  the  altar  at  the  side 
of  the  church,  chaunting  the  benediction.  The  con- 
gregation joined  in  it,  and  it  was  altogether  quite 
an  imposing  affair  ;  though  it  seemed  to  me,  espe- 
cially in  connexion  with  the  minister's  turning  first 
his  back  and  then  his  face  to  the  audience,  as  a  little 
too  much  like  a  relic  of  Popery  to  have  become 
an  accredited  part  of  the  service  in  Luther's  church. 


DK.    HEUBNER.  129 

I  passed  the  Sabbath  evening  with  Dr.  Heubner, 
and  was  not  a  little  interested  and  edified  by  his  con- 
versation. He  knew  Schleusner,  the  author  of  the 
Lexicon,  well,  as  he  resided  at  Wittenberg,  and  I 
rather  think  was  associated  with  him  as  a  Professor 
in  the  Theological  Seminary.  He  spoke  of  him  with 
great  respect  as  a  scholar ;  but  remarked  that  his 
theology  was  not  of  a  very  high  type,  though  he 
was  by  no  means  a  rationalist.  I  took  leave  of  the 
Doctor  at  the  close  of  the  evening,  having  seen 
enough  fully  to  justify  the  favourable  opinion  that 
Professor  Tholuck  had  expressed  concerning  him. 
He  seemed  to  me  the  apostle  John  over  again. 
When  we  parted,  he  embraced  me,  (yes,  imprinted 
upon  my  cheek  a  literal,  bona  fide  kiss,)  and  left 
me  with  a  benediction  as  fraternal  as  if  I  had 
been  allied  to  him  by  a  much  nearer  tie  than  that 
of  the  common  humanity.  Old  Wittenberg  is  a 
mean,  dirty  place  in  its  exterior,  but  it  is  glorious 
in  its  associations. 

6* 


XIX. 


AND 


TYTEANDER  was  the  first  person  upon  whom  I 
called  at  Berlin,  after  I  had  got  fixed  at  my 
hotel.  He  was  just  going  out  to  his  lecture,  but  he 
received  me  with  the  greatest  kindness,  and  made 
an  appointment  for  me  to  call  in  the  evening,  when 
he  would  be  at  leisure.  I  had  scarcely  seen  a  dis- 
tinguished person  before,  who  did  not  appear  to  me 
to  resemble  somebody  whom  I  could  think  of  among 
my  American  acquaintances ;  and  I  was  accustomed 
to  note  the  resemblance  in  my  journal,  to  aid 
me  subsequently  in  recalling  the  countenance  ;  but 
Neander's  face  was  not  to  be  compared  with  any 
that  my  eye  had  ever  rested  on.  It  was  in  a  high 
degree  Jewish,  and  yet  I  should  doubt  whether 
it  ever  had  its  prototype  in  any  Jew,  from  Abra- 
ham down  to  Neander's  own  father.  Without  at- 
tempting to  describe  the  peculiar  expression  of  his 
countenance,  I  may  mention  that  he  was  a  small 


NEANDEB.  131 

man,  of  very  dark  complexion,  and  a  fine  black  eye, 
though  he  kept  his  eyes  so  nearly  closed  when  he  con- 
versed, that  it  was  only  now  and  then  that  one  could 
fairly  get  a  sight  of  them.  I  was  greatly  struck  with 
his  simple  and  cordial  manner ;  and  felt,  from  the 
first  moment  that  I  heard  him  speak,  an  irresistible 
conviction  that  he  was  perfectly  sincere  and  trust- 
worthy in  everything. 

I  spent  an  hour  with  him  in  the  evening,  accord- 
ing to  appointment ;  and  saw  more  of  him,  during 
the  ten  days  that  I  passed  in  Berlin,  than  of  almost 
any  other  person.  He  spoke  of  many  of  my  country- 
men, who  had  resided  at  Berlin,  in  terms  of  great 
respect  and  affection ;  but  I  thought  he  seemed  to 
have  been  specially  drawn  towards  Professor  Hodge 
and  Dr.  Sears,  both  of  whom,  he  was  sure,  would 
prove  an  honour  to  their  country.  He  told  me  that 
evangelical  truth  on  the  one  hand,  and  Pantheism 
on  the  other,  were  making  rapid  progress  in  Ger- 
many, and  that  it  was  not  easy  to  say  which  was 
advancing  most  rapidly.  -He  spoke  in  a  manner 
that  indicated  the  highest  respect  and  reverence  for 
the  King ;  and  when  I  asked  him  concerning  the 
King's  religious  character,  he  remarked  that  he  had 
no  doubt  that  he  was  a  truly  pious  man.  I  ex- 
pressed some  astonishment  at  that,  from  having  seen 
it  stated  in  a  French  newspaper  that  I  had  taken 
up,  that  he  attended  the  theatre  on  the  Sabbath. 
"But,"  says  Neander,  "I  suppose  you  know  that 
the  same  views  of  the  Sabbath  are  not  entertained 


132  NEANDER. 

in  Germany  as  in  England  and  America — I  do  not 
entertain  the  same  myself."  I  replied  that  I  was 
aware  of  that ;  but  that  I  did  not  suppose  that 
those  who  professed  to  be  evangelical  Christians 
would  attend  the  theatre  on  the  Sabbath.  To 
which  he  replied,  "I  would  not  go  to  the  theatre 
any  day  of  the  week ;  but  there  is  nothing  that  I 
would  do  at  any  time,  that  I  would  not  do  on  Sunday, 
if  convenience  required  it."  He  spoke  of  the  long 
prevailing  nationalism  in  Germany  as  a  thing  upon 
the  wane  ;  and,  though  he  was  as  far  as  possible 
from  having  any  sympathy  with  it,  he  expressed  his 
apprehension  that  many  opposed  it  with  a  bad  spirit  ; 
and,  by  representing  the  case  worse  than  it  was, 
rather  helped  to  bind  men  more  closely  to  their 
errors,  than  to  effect  their  deliverance.  His  heart 
seemed  to  be  very  much  in  the  cause  of  revivals, 
and  in  the  cause  of  missions.  He  told  me  that 
some  of  the  documents  which  had  reached  him  on 
the  subject  of  American  revivals,  he  had  caused  to 
be  translated,  and  had  done  his  utmost  to  secure 
their  circulation  among  the  good  people  of  Germany. 
Somebody  hact  sent  him  a  few  numbers  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Herald,  published  at  Boston,  and  he  seemed 
to  have  devoured  them  with  the  utmost  avidity.  He 
had  no  doubt  that  our  noble  country  was  to  have 
a  chief  agency  in  evangelizing  the  world. 

My  curiosity  was  gratified — I  cannot  say  that  my 
mind  was  particularly  enlightened — by  attending  one 
of  his  lectures  on  the  "Life  of  Christ."  The  room 


NEANDER.  133 

in  which  the  lecture  was  delivered,  had  been,  origin- 
ally, a  splendid  one ;  but  it  had  been  suffered  to  go 
to  decay,  and  withal  had  accumulated  quite  as  much 
dirt  as  was  consistent  with  health,  and  a  good  deal 
more  than  was  consistent  with  decency.  The  number 
of  students  in  attendance  was  large — I  should  think, 
not  less  than  four  hundred.  After  I  had  waited  in 
the  lecture-room  a  good  while,  the  worthy  professor 
made  his  appearance  ;  and  a  singularly  plain,  and 
to  me  perfectly  unique,  appearance  it  was.  As  he 
came  in,  his  head  was  down,  as  if  he  had  lost  some- 
thing that  he  was  trying  to  find  ;  and  among  other 
attractive  articles  of  dress,  was  a  huge  pair  of  boots, 
which  he  wore  outside  of  his  pantaloons,  and  which 
came  up  nearly  to  his  knees.  I  noticed,  on  his  en- 
tering the  room,  and  several  times  during  the  lec- 
ture, that  there  was  a  hissing  among  the  students, 
which  I  feared,  at  the  moment,  was  intended  as  an 
insult  to  the  lecturer ;  but  I  soon  learned  that  it 
was  nothing  more  than  a  demand  for  perfect  silence. 
Neander's  manner  of  lecturing  indicated  the  extreme 
of  modesty  and  diffidence ;  but  there  was  nothing 
about  it  that  was  in  the  least  degree  attractive.  His 
eyes  seemed  never  to  be  more  than  half  open  ;  but  they 
were  steadily  fixed  upon  his  paper.  On  one  hand  he 
rested  his  forehead,  and  with  the  other  he  was  whirl- 
ing about  a  goose-quill ;  and  once  in  twenty  seconds, 
upon  an  average,  according  to  an  accurate  estimate 
by  my  watch,  he  entertained  us  by  spitting !  I  know 
not  whether  this  was  the  effect  of  disease  or  habit ; 


134  N  E  A  N  D  E  R . 

but  I  should  charitably  hope,  and  I  think  some- 
body told  me,  that  it  was  the  former.  He  delivered 
his  lecture  standing,  and  bending  over  a  desk  in  the 
most  ungraceful  posture  ;  but  his  utterance  was  dis- 
tinct, and  sufficiently  loud  to  fill  a  large  room.  I 
could  see  that  the  lecture  was  listened  to  with  great 
attention,  and  the  lecturer  was  evidently  regarded 
with  the  highest  respect. 

After  the  lecture  was  closed,  Neander  took  me 
into  another  part  of  the  building,  and  introduced 
me  to  several  professors  of  illustrious  name,  and 
then  proposed  to  me  to  take  a  " promenade''  with 
himself  and  his  sister — not  the  sister  who  kept  house 
for  him,  but  one  who  was  then  on  a  visit  to  him  from 
Hamburg — a  lady  who  seemed  to  have  very  little 
in  common  with  himself,  her  personal  appearance 
being  uncommonly  attractive,  and  her  spirits  buoy- 
ant almost  to  excess.  She  spoke  English  with  great 
ease  ;  though  she  insisted  upon  it,  for  some  time, 
that  I  knew  German ;  and  when  I  assured  her  of 
the  contrary,  she  laughed  immoderately  at  the  idea 
of  my  attending  a  German  lecture. 

Immediately  on  my  introduction  to  Neander,  he 
asked  me  if  I  would  dine  with  him  the  next  Sun- 
day ;  and,  as  it  presented  to  me  the  alternative  of 
dining  in  a  Christian  family  or  in  a  hotel,  I  had  no 
scruples  in  accepting  the  invitation.  He  had,  more- 
over, requested  that  I  would  come  in  the  morning, 
and  accompany  him  to  hear  a  very  eloquent  preacher ; 
to  which  also  I  consented.  When  the  Sabbath 


NEANDER.  135 

morning  came,  however,  the  weather  was  so  un- 
favourable that  I  felt  obliged  to  write  him  a  note, 
saying  that,  with  a  severe  cold  which  I  had  already 
taken,  I  did  not  think  it  safe  to  trust  myself  in  a 
cold  church,  but  that  I  should  still  hope  to  be  with 
him  at  dinner.  He  answered  my  note  in  English, 
approving  of  my  purpose  to  keep  in  the  house  dur- 
ing the  morning,  but  expressing  the  hope  that  I 
should  be  able  to  dine  with  him ;  and  added — "  It 
would  be  a  great  disgust  to  me  not  to  give  you  the 
occasion  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  my  dear 
friend,  Dr.  Twesten,  a  true  theologian  non  glorice 
sed  crucis"  At  three  o'clock,  the  hour  appointed, 
I  went  to  his  house,  and  was  shown  into  his  study, 
where  I  found  him  sitting  alone  ;  but  Dr.  Twesten, 
the  Professor  of  Dogmatic  Theology,  very  soon  came 
in,  and  made  himself  as  agreeable  as  he  could,  with- 
out knowing  enough  of  English  to  form  a  sentence. 
In  due  time  the  servant  announced  that  dinner  was 
ready ;  and  what  was  my  astonishment,  as  I  entered 
the  dining-room,  to  find  as  many  guests  there  as 
the  room  could  possibly  accommodate.  When  we 
sat  down  to  the  table  there  was  no  blessing  audibly 
asked  ;  but  there  was  a  pause,  that  each  one  might 
ask  a  blessing  for  himself.  The  manner  in  which 
the  afternoon  was  passed  was  quite  in  accordance 
with  the  German  doctrine  in  respect  to  the  Sab- 
bath ;  and,  as  the  good-humoured,  not  to  say  bois- 
terous demonstrations,  were  all  in  G-erman,  I  must 
confess  that  I  was  for  once  more  than  reconciled  to 


136  HENGSTENBEBG. 

my  ignorance  of  the  language.  What  aggravated 
the  case  to  me  was,  that  I  had  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  the  dinner  party  had  been  made  on  my  account, 
though  I  had  understood  Neander  to  say  that  I 
should  meet  nobody  at  dinner  but  his  sister  and  Dr. 
Twesten.  I  am  sure  he  did  not  intend  to  do  vio- 
lence to  my  feelings ;  and  I  am  equally  sure  that, 
if  he  had  had  any  adequate  appreciation  of  the 
manner  in  which  we  regard  the  Sabbath,  I  should 
not  have  been  placed  in  a  situation  so  painful  to 
me. 

I  had  intended  to  say  something  of  HENGSTEN- 
BERG,  having  placed  his  name  at  the  head  of  this 
article  ;  but  I  find  that  neither  my  recollections  of 
him,  nor  my  notes  concerning  him,  supply  material 
for  any  other  than  the  most  general  remarks.  I 
walked  a  long  distance  outside  the  gates  of  the  city 
to  find  him,  and,  as  he  spoke  no  English,  my  in- 
terview with  him  turned  to  no  great  account.  For 
some  time  he  kept  talking  German  to  mer  despite 
of  my  assurances  that  I  did  not  understand  a  word 
of  it ;  and  when  he  exchanged  German  for  French, 
he  scarcely  did  it  with  a  good  grace.  I  found  him 
a  much  younger  person  than  I  had  expected ;  but, 
though  he  had  lived  only  thirty-three  years,  he  had 
been  a  professor  during  thirteen  of  them.  He  waj 
a  small,  bright  looking  man,  and  evinced  good  man- 
ners in  everything,  except  that  he  smoked  inces- 
santly while  I  was  with  him,  and  occasionally  let 


HENGSTENBEBG.  137 

forth  a  puff  almost  directly  in  my  face.  No  other 
apology,  however,  was  needed  for  it  than  the  fact 
that  he  was  a  German.  I  was  shut  up  in  the  dili- 
gence at  one  time  for  thirty-six  hours  with  five 
smokers,  who  were  deaf  to  all  my  entreaties  to 
them  to  desist,  because  I  could  not  speak  German, 
and  they  professed  to  be  able  to  understand  no- 
thing else  ! 


XX. 


// 


the  time  that  I  determined  to  visit  Ber- 
lin,  it  was  one  important  object  with  me  to  see 
ALEXANDER  VON  HUMBOLDT  ;    and   as  I  knew  that 
he  passed  a  good  deal  of  his  time  abroad — at  Paris 
and  elsewhere,  I  was  glad  to  find,  on  my  arrival  a 


ALEXANDER    VON    HUMBOLDT.  139 

Berlin,  that  he  was  at  home,  and  in  his  usual 
health.  Several  of  his  personal  friends  were  ready 
to  give  me  an  introduction  to  him,  but  my  experi- 
ence had  already  taught  me  that  General  Jackson's 
letter  was  not  only  worth  more  than  any  French 
or  German  letters  I  could  obtain,  however  good,  but 
that  it  actually  superseded  the  necessity  of  any 
others ;  and  I  preferred  to  use  it  as  an  introduc- 
tion to  Humboldt,  rather  even  than  to  take  a  note 
from  our  own  accomplished  and  respectable  ambas- 
sador, Mr.  Wheaton.  I  accordingly  enclosed  to  the 
Baron  my  card  and  the  General's  letter,  signifying, 
at  the  same  time,  by  a  note,  that  I  should  feel  hon- 
oured by  the  opportunity  of  paying  my  respects  to 
him  ;  and  begging  that,  in  case  he  should  consent 
to  my  proposal,  he  would  let  me  know  at  what 
time  it  would  be  convenient  for  him  to  receive 
me.  He  immediately  called  at  my  hotel,  and  as  I 
was  out,  he  left  his  card.  I  then  returned  his  call, 
but,  unfortunately,  he  was  not  at  home.  On  his 
return,  he  addressed  a  note  to  me,  requesting  that 
I  would  call  without  delay  and  see  him  ;  and  he 
added — "Any  American,  especially  any  one  belong- 
ing to  the  State  of  New  York,  which  has  abolished 
slavery,  will  always  be  welcome  to  the  study  of  Alex- 
ander Von  Humboldt." 

I  called  at  his  lodgings  some  time  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  found  him  at  home,  disengaged,  and 
ready  to  receive  me.  He  approached  me  with  great 
simplicity  and  apparent  cordiality,  and  had  nothing 


I 


140       ALEXANDER  VON  HUMBOLDT. 

of  the  air  even  of  a  stranger.  He  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  man  of  sixty-five  ;  and  if  I  mistake  not, 
this  was  actually  about  his  age  ;  but  he  was  rapid 
in  his  movements,  and  seemed  scarcely  to  have  lost 
the  vigour  and  elasticity  of  youth.  He  had  a  be- 
nignant, genial  sort  of  look,  and  a  winning  and 
courteous  manner,  which  would  have  made  you  wish 
to  know  more  of  him,  if  you  had  met  him  as  a 
stranger  in  a  stage-coach.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
rapid  and  earnest  talkers  I  ever  heard.  It  was 
wonderful  the  rapidity  with  which  he  passed  from 
one  subject  to  another.  There  were  various  mat- 
ters concerning  which  he  wished  to  inquire ;  but 
he  manifested  a  degree  of  familiarity  with  every- 
thing American,  that  would  have  led  me  to  sup- 
pose that  he  had  spent  no  small  part  of  his  life 
in  this  country.  He  talked  about  slavery,  in  com- 
mon with  everybody  else  whom  I  saw,  but  he  seemed 
to  take  a  calm  and  reasonable  view  of  the  subject ; 
and,  contrary  to  my  expectations,  after  the  hint 
contained  in  his  note  to  me,  reprobated  the  violent 
denunciations  in  which  many  were  prone  to  indulge. 
He  seemed  to  be  aware  of  our  national  infirmities, 
while  yet  he  was  not  at  all  disposed  to  magnify 
them ;  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  there 
was  very  much  in  our  form  of  government  that  he 
admired,  and  that  he  could  not  doubt  that  Provi- 
dence had  designed  that  we  should  work  out  for 
ourselves  a  glorious  destiny.  He  remarked  that  he 
had  had  a  pleasant  acquaintance  with  several  of 


ALEXANDER  VON  HUMBOLDT.       141 

my  distinguished  countrymen,  and  especially  with 
Mr.  Everett,  of  whose  talents  and  attainments  he 
spoke  in  no  measured  terms  of  praise.  The  time 
that  I  was  with  him  passed  so  pleasantly  that  I 
made  a  longer  call  than  I  was  aware  of;  and  the 
servant  at  length  came  and  notified  him  that  the 
hour  had  arrived  when  he  had  another  engagement. 
He  told  me  that  he  was  engaged  to  dine  that  day 
with  the  King,  and,  as  the  King's  dinner-hour  was 
early,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  excusing  him- 
self. He  took  leave  of  me  with  many  expressions 
of  good  will,  and  assured  me  that  he  should  be 
glad  to  do  anything  in  his  power,  during  my  stay 
in  Berlin,  that  would  contribute  to  my  gratification. 

I  learned,  from  the  best  authority,  that  Hum- 
boldt  was  on  the  most  intimate  terms  with  the 
King  ;  that  he  was  accustomed  to  dine  with  him 
as  often  as  once  or  twice  a  week ;  and  that  he 
was,  probably  more  than  any  other  person,  his  coun- 
sellor and  confidant.  I  was  assured,  moreover,  that 
his  habits  were  at  once  most  studious  and  most 
active  ;  and  that  most  of  his  time  was  spent  in  his 
study,  and  very  few  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four 
were  spent  in  sleep.  His  brother  William,  who  had 
died  a  short  time  before,  was  commonly  regarded, 
at  Berlin,  as  the  greater  man  of  the  two.  I  heard 
it  said  that  the  King  placed  such  unlimited  confi- 
dence in  his  judgment,  that  he  scarcely  ever  thought 
of  appealing  from  it. 


142  R  I  T  T  E  R  . 

Next  to  Neander,  the  Professor  at  Berlin,  of  whom 
I  saw  most,  was  KITTER,  the  celebrated  Geographer — 
supposed,  as  I  was  informed,  to  be  the  greatest  man 
in  his  way  then  upon  the  stage.  I  had  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  him,  which  I  found  he  was  every 
way  disposed  to  honour  ;  and,  during  the  whole  time 
that  I  was  in  Berlin,  scarcely  a  day  passed  that  did 
not  bring  to  me  some  fresh  testimony  of  his  good 
will.  When  I  first  called  upon  him,  I  found  him 
in  his  study,  with  several  large  and  beautiful  maps 
lying  open  on  the  table  before  him,  which,  I  believe, 
had  been  made  by  his  own  hand ;  and  he  remarked 
pleasantly  in  reference  to  it,  that  I  had  found  him 
riding  his  hobby.  He  was  a  man  of  a  large  frame, 
quite  thickly  set,  with  a  correspondingly  large  face, 
and  a  fine,  open,  honest  expression.  As  he  spoke 
English  readily,  I  conversed  with  him  on  various  sub- 
jects of  interest,  and  found  him  equally  intelligent 
and  communicative.  I  was  gratified  particularly  to 
find  that  he  seemed  to  be  an  earnest  and  devout 
Christian.  He  expressed  to  me  the  greatest  admira- 
tion of  Humboldt's  character,  and  considered  hi 
a  model  for  all  who  would  attain  the  highest  degre 
of  intellectual  culture.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  at- 
tending one  of  his  lectures  on  Comparative  Geog- 
raphy. When  I  first  entered  the  room,  there  we 
scarcely  more  than  half  a  dozen  students  ;  but  th 
number  gradually  increased,  until  it  rose  to  near! 
an  hundred.  I  observed  that  whenever  a  student 
came  in  after  the  lecture  had  commenced,  he  had 


HENRY  . — R  A  U  M  E  U  R  .  143 

to  pay  a  penalty  for  it,  by  being  "scraped''  by  the 
rest  of  the  class.  Professor  Bitter,  though  not  par- 
ticularly graceful  as  a  lecturer,  was  yet-  entirely  at 
home,  and  he  often  illustrated  what  he  was  saying 
by  turning  round  and  making  an  outline  on  the 
black-board.  Though  so  many  years  have  passed 
since  I  saw  him,  there  are  few  European  faces  that 
are  more  familiar  to  me,  and  few  among  all  the  ac- 
quaintances that  I  made,  whom  I  remember  with  a 
feeling  of  deeper  gratitude. 

I  carried  a  letter  from  Professor  Gaussen,  of 
Geneva,  to  the  Pastor  HENRY,  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished clergymen  in  Berlin,  and  a  man  of  great 
general  influence  in  both  the  Church  and  civil  so- 
ciety. He  had  married  the  daughter  of  a  very 
celebrated  statesman,  and  partly  by  this  means,  but 
chiefly  by  his  great  talents  and  eminent  virtues,  had 
acquired  an  influence  which,  it  was  said,  reached  even 
to  the  throne.  He  was  rather  a  large  man,  of  great 
personal  dignity,  and  if  I  could  judge  from  what  I 
saw  of  him,  unusually  grave  in  his  conversation.  He 
was  then  busy  with  his  great  work  on  Calvin,  which 
seemed  chiefly  to  occupy  his  time  and  engross  his 
thoughts.  He  had  made  a  visit  to  Geneva  not  long 
before,  in  order  thoroughly  to  explore  every  source 
of  authentic  information  in  respect  to  the  great 
Beformer. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Professor  BAUMEUR, 
the  celebrated  historian,  who  has  since  visited  me  in 


144  STEPHENS  . — H  I  T  Z  I  G . 

this  country.  He  had  then  just  published  a  Book 
of  Travels  in  England,  which  formed  a  frequent 
topic  of  conversation,  and  which,  in  all  the  circles 
into  which  I  was  thrown,  seemed  to  be  highly 
approved.  I  attended  one  of  his  lectures  on  His- 
tory. His  class  was  small ;  I  think,  not  exceeding 
twenty-four.  His  lecture  seemed  to  be  extempor- 
aneous, and  his  manner  was  as  free  and  easy  as  it 
was  in  common  conversation. 

I  was  introduced  to  STEPHENS,  the  Professor  of 
Philosophy ;  but  as  he  could  not  speak  English, 
and  professed  to  be  unable  to  speak  French,  I 
got  not  a  word  out  of  him  that  I  could  understand. 
His  manners  were  very  agreeable,  and  he  had  a 
good-natured,  speaking  countenance,  so  that  I  did 
not  feel,  after  all,  as  if  he  was  quite  dumb.  There 
was  something  truly  venerable  in  his  appearance, 
that  reminded  me  somewhat  of  President  Nott,  of 
Union  College. 


I  saw  two  or  three  very  eminent  Professors  o: 
Law.  One  of  them  was  HITZIG,  the  great  criminal- 
ist, to  whom  I  had  a  letter  from  his  particular  friend, 
Baron  Fouquet.  He  received  me  civilly  enough ; 
but  I  thought  I  discovered  pretty  soon  that  he  h 
something  more  important  on  hand  than  to  strain 
noddle  to  talk  English  to  an  American  clergyman 
and,  accordingly,  he  volunteered  to  give  me  a  note 
somebody  else,  who,  he  thought,  could  be  of  gre 


, 


SAVIGNY.  —  GANS.--ENCKE.  145 

service  to  me.  I  took  the  note,  understanding  well 
the  reason  why  it  was  given  to  me  ;  but  I  think  I 
turned  it  to  no  account.  Mr.  Wheaton  introduced 
me,  also,  to  two  other  of  the  most  distinguished  pro- 
fessors of  Law — namely,  SAVIGNY  and  G-ANS.  The 
former  was,  in  his  person  and  countenance,  a  truly 
noble  specimen  of  a  man.  The  latter  was  a  strongly 
marked  Jew  ;  but  was  very  lively  and  agreeable  in 
conversation.  I  understood,  however,  that  they  had 
no  sympathy  with  each  other,  and  were  heads  of 
opposite  parties.  I  believe  Savigny  was  considered 
as  having  no  superior  in  his  department  in  Ger- 
many. 

I  must  not  omit  to  say,  that  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  ENCKE,  the  great  astronomer.  He  had  been 
called  to  Berlin,  from  the  University  of  Gotha,  not 
long  before,  and  had  acquired  a  celebrity  perhaps 
equal  to  that  of  any  astronomer  on  the  Continent. 
The  newly-discovered  planet  had  then  recently  been 
named  for  him.  His  personal  appearance  was  far 
from  being  attractive — he  was  a  short,  clumsy  looking 
man,  with  anything  else,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  than 
an  intellectual  face ;  but  it  was  only  necessary  to 
converse  with  him  a  few  minutes,  to  find  out  that 
he  was  a  highly  intellectual,  as  well  as  agreeable,  per- 
son. There  was  another  great  European  astronomer 
then  liyiijg,  whom  he  was  desirous  that  I  should  see  ; 
and  it  turned  out  that  I  had  a  letter  to  his  grand- 
f  by  means  of  which  I  easily  obtained  an  intro- 

7 


146 


OLBERS. 


duction  to  him.  It  was  Dr.  OLBERS,  of  Bremen, 
He  was  a  most  venerable  man  in  his  appearance, 
about  eighty  years  of  age,  and  had  held  the  high- 
est rank  among  astronomers  for  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury. Though  he  was  almost  sinking  under  the 
burden  of  years,  and  actually  died  soon  after,  he 
was  as  enthusiastically  devoted  to  his  favourite 
science  as  ever.  He  was  a  perfect  gentleman  of 
the  old  school,  and  had  the  most  bland  and  engag- 
ing manners.  I  was  sorry  to  hear  it  said,  that  he 
had  probably  never  learned  to  "  look  through  nature 
up  to  nature's  God." 


XXI 


AND 


THESE  two  stars  in  the  firmament  of  poetry  were 
shining,  at  the  time  of  my  visit  in  England,  not 
indeed  in  their  full  strength,  but  with  a  degree  of 
lustre  that  made  them  objects  of  general  attraction. 
I  spent  about  the  same  time  with  each  of  them,  and 
my  recollections  of  the  two  are  about  equally  dis- 
tinct. 

I  called  at  ROGERS'  house,  and,  as  he  was  not  at 
home,  left  my  letter  of  introduction,  which  was  al- 
most immediately  answered  by  a  note,  inviting  me 
to  breakfast  with  him.  I  went  at  the  specified  time, 
and  was  received  with  equal  dignity  and  hospitality. 
He  had  the  appearance  of  a  man  of  seventy  ;  he 
was  of  about  the  middle  height,  stood  perfectly  erect, 
and  had  a  face  beaming  with  intelligence  and  good 
nature.  His  manners  were  at  once  dignified  and 
graceful,  and  seemed  to  indicate  both  a  gentle 


148  ROGERS. 

and  thoughtful  spirit.  I  found  him  living  in  splen- 
did style,  but  quite  alone,  his  servant  being  the 
only  person  besides  himself  whom  I  saw ;  and  my 
impression  was  and  is,  that  he  was  a  bachelor, 
though  of  this  I  cannot  be  quite  certain.  His 
health  was,  at  that  time,  perfectly  good  ;  though  he 
told  me  that  he  never  knew  what  health  was  till 
after  he  had  passed  fifty. 

His  parents  were  dissenters  from  the  Established 
Church,  and  I  suppose  Unitarians ;  for  he  told  me 
that  he  was  baptized  by  Dr.  Price,  and  seemed  to 
have  great  veneration  for  his  character.  He  did  not 
say  directly  that  he  was  an  Unitarian  himself ;  but, 
from  some  remarks  that  he  made,  I  inferred  that 
he  was.  In  connexion  with  what  he  said  about 
Dr.  Price,  he  remarked  that  he  had  never  known  a 
great  man  who  was  not  both  simple  and  clear ;  that 
some  .person  had  told  him  that  Dr.  Franklin,  so  far 
at  least  as  simplicity  was  concerned,  was  an  excep- 
tion to  this  general  rule  ;  but,  that  he  had  since 
been  assured,  by  a  lady  who  knew  Dr.  Franklin  in- 
timately, that  simplicity  was  one  of  his  most  prom- 
inent characteristics.  He  talked  a  good  deal  oi 
Washington  Irving  and  Cooper,  both  of  whom  h( 
knew  well,  and  regarded  as  among  the  stars  of  01 
common  English  literature.  His  admiration  foi 
Kobert  Hall's  genius  was  unbounded,  though 
said  it  had  so  happened  that  he  had  never  hean 
him  preach  but  once.  He  observed,  apparently  wit] 
a  good  deal  of  satisfaction,  that  in  the  room  ii 


ROGERS.  149 

• 

which  I  was  sitting,  he  had  had  the  honour  to  re- 
ceive three  who  had  been  presidents  of  the  United 
States,  besides  Mr.  Van  Buren,  who,  he  supposed, 
was  destined  to  add  one  to  the  number.  After 
breakfast,  he  asked  me  to  go  up  stairs  with  him, 
that  he  might  show  me  some  of  his  literary  curiosi- 
ties ;  but  then  he  said  he  must  first  feed  his  birds  ; 
and  immediately,  on  throwing  down  some  small  bits 
of  bread,  some  twenty  birds  or  more,  that  were  do- 
mesticated on  his  premises,  came  flying  down  and 
picked  them  up.  He  made  some  beautiful  remarks 
upon  their  being  so  affectionate  and  loving  towards 
him,  and  showed  that  he  had  himself  strong  domes- 
tic affections,  though  I  saw  nothing  to  indicate  that 
he  had  any  objects  more  considerable,  or  more  know- 
ing, than  birds  to  fasten  them  upon. 

On  going  up  stairs,  he  brought  out  various  literary 
relics  of  by-gone  days,  all  of  which  were  of  great  in- 
terest, and  for  some  of  which  he  had  paid  a  very  large 
price.  His  greatest  treasure  of  this  kind,  however, 
was  a  document,  which  was  framed,  and  hung  up 
in  his  hall.  It  was  nothing  less  than  the  written 
engagement  between  Milton  and  his  publisher,  which 
secured  to  the  latter  the  right  to  print  the  Paradise 
Lost,  on  condition  of  his  paying  six  pounds  for  each 
edition.  For  this  document  he  told  me  he  gave 
sixty  pounds.  It  was  written  in  a  fair,  beautiful 
hand,  and  I  did  not  notice  any  dissimilarity  between 
the  body  of  the  document  and  the  signature.  When 
I  WRR  mentioning  the  circumstance  to  a  friend,  after 


150  CAMPBELL. 

my  return,  he  immediately  suggested  the  difficulty, 
which,  strange  to  say,  had  not  previously  occurred 
to  myself,  of  supposing  this  to  be  a  genuine  auto- 
graph of  Milton,  inasmuch  as  he  was,  at  the  time, 
stone  blind.  I  wrote  at  once  to  Kogers,  asking  him 
to  explain.  In  due  time  I  received  an  answer  from 
him,  of  great  interest,  showing,  from  the  history  of 
the  document  that  it  must  be  authentic,  and  then 
stating  that  it  was  only  the  signature  that  was  writ- 
ten by  him  ;  and  that  a  man  becomes  so  familiar 
with  the  writing  of  his  own  name,  that  if  he  has 
been  accustomed  to  write  it  in  a  graceful  hand,  even 
blindness  will  not  prevent  his  still  doing  so.  The 
venerable  poet  still  lives,  and  I  think  he  must  now 
have  approached  very  near  to  ninety.  An  English 
friend  of  mine  lately  informed  me  that  he  retains 
much  of  his  elasticity  of  mind,  that  he  sometimes 
goes  out  to  pass  an  evening  with  a  friend,  and  is 
not  much  disposed  to  see  signs  of  the  blossoming  of 
the  almond  tree. 

I  found  CAMPBELL  in  very  different  circumstances, 
tftid  evidently  a  very  different  man.  He  met  m( 
with  great  kindness,  and  very  courteously  said,  twc 
or  three  times  over,  that  he  felt  flattered  by  my 
visit ;  and  really  I  thought  he  had  good  reason  t( 
construe  it  into  an  expression  of  respect ;  for,  ii 
order  to  get  to  his  apartments,  I  had  to  travel  uj 
four  long  flights  of  stairs,  and  then  truvrl  down  om 
in  anotlior  direction,  whir-h  altogether  made  goiuethinj 


CAMPBELL.  151 

of  a  journey.  However,  I  quite  forgot  the  pains  which 
my  visit  had  cost  me,  in  the  abundant  pleasure  which 
it  yielded.  I  found  him  rather  under  the  mid- 
dle size,  easy  and  quick  in  his  movements,  and  very 
much  like  his  picture,  except,  as  he  himself  said,  his 
picture  had  somewhat  flattered  him.  His  dress  was 
so  plain,  I  may  say  slovenly,  that,  on  first  meet- 
ing him,  I  was  embarrassed  in  the  same  way  that 
I  was  the  first  time  I  met  John  Quincy  Adams — 
I  was  in  doubt  whether  it  was  he  or  his  servant. 
His  room,  too,  though  lined  with  books,  had  not, 
like  the  apartments  of  Eogers,  the  appearance  of 
opulence.  Indeed,  I  believe  he  was,  at  that  time, 
literally  poor ;  and  he  told  me  that  he  was  obliged 
to  get  his  living  by  writing,  particularly  by  con- 
ducting the  New  Monthly  Keview.  He  stated  that 
he  had  enlisted  very  zealously  in  behalf  of  the  ex- 
iled Poles ;  that  he  had  not  only  begged  money 
for  them  out-and-out,  but  had  sold  for  their  benefit 
to  certain  ladies,  several  notes  addressed  to  himself 
by  Sir  Walter  Scott  and  Lord  Byron,  at  the  enor- 
mous rate  of  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds  each  ;  but 
he  seemed  to  me  to  have  grown  rather  sick  of  the 
enterprize.  The  great  fire  in  New  York  had  occurred 
just  before,  and  some  effort  had  been  made  in  Lon- 
don for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  ;  but  he  said  that 
he  thought  it  not  at  all  in  good  taste,  and  it 
a  mounted  to  so  very  little,  that  it  was  really  not 
ii)ii''h  better  than  an  insult.  He  had  great  quan- 
tities of  manuscript  lyin^  around  him,  and  he  re- 


152 


CAMPBELL. 


marked  that  it  accumulated  so  rapidly  that  he  was 
obliged  every  few  days  to  have  a  regular  auto  da  fe. 
He  told  me  that  he  expected  to  be  in  Scotland  at 
the  time  I  had  arranged  to  be  there  myself,  and 
gave  me  his  address  in  Glasgow,  requesting  me  to 
call  upon  him.  He  seemed  to  be  between  fifty 
and  sixty  years  old,  but  did  not,  I  believe,  enjoy 
very  vigorous  health.  He  retained  somewhat  of  the 
Scotch  accent,  though  it  could  not  be  expected  that 
it  should  be  very  marked,  as  he  had  been  away  from 
Scotland  some  thirty  years.  He  had  more  vivacity 
than  Kogers,  but  was,  perhaps,  less  bland  and  dig- 
nified. 


XXII. 


T  HAD  had  some  acquaintance  with  Dr.  GKEGORY, 
by  correspondence,  before  I  saw  him,  and,  there- 
fore, did  not  anticipate  meeting  him  as  a  stranger. 
I  rode  out  one  morning  from  London,  seven  miles, 
to  Woolwich,  Dr.  Gregory's  residence,  on  purpose  to 
spend  the  day  with  him.  He  had  been  apprized 
of  my  intention  to  come  at  that  time,  and  he  re- 
ceived me  with  all  the  familiarity  of  an  old  friend. 
I  had  been  accustomed  to  contemplate  his  face  in 
his  portrait,  which  he  had  previously  sent  me,  and 
it  was  so  exact  a  likeness  that,  when  I  saw  the 
original,  I  could  scarcely  persuade  myself  that  so 
perfect  an  idea  as  I  had  could  have  been  gathered 
from  a  picture.  He  was  not  much  above  the  me- 
dium height,  but  was  rather  inclined  to  be  stout, 
and  gave  you  the  idea  of  a  more  than  common  de- 
gree of  physical  strength.  If  I  had  described  frim 
after  I  had  been  with  him  five  minutes,  I  should 


154  OLINTHUS    GBEGORY. 

have  said  that  he  was  characterized  by  great  sim- 
plicity of  manner,  entire  freedom  in  conversation, 
excellent  common  sense,  and  a  heart  overflowing 
with  kindness ;  and  I  should  have  given  the  same 
account  of  him  when  I  left  him,  with  this  important 
addition — that  his  knowledge  was  vast  and  varied, 
and  that  he  was  a  truly  evangelical,  devout,  and 
earnest  Christian. 

As  I  was  aware  of  his  great  intimacy  with  Kobert 
Hall,  I  was  particularly  desirous  to  hear  what  he 
would  say  concerning  him,  though  I  already  knew 
what  he  had  written.  He  could  hardly  find  language 
to  convey  any  adequate  idea  of  the  estimate  in  which 
he  held  him  as  a  man  of  intellect ;  and  he  evi- 
dently thought  that  he  had  not  left  upon  earth  so 
great  and  finished  a  mind  as  his  own.  He  men- 
tioned one  singular  characteristic  of  Hall's  mem- 
ory— that  it  was  so  exact  for  words  that  he  could 
remember  every  word  of  a  sermon  just  as  he  had 
preached  it,  though  a  long  time  might  intervene 
He  said  that,  in  conversation,  Hall  was  remarkable 
for  letting  other  people  take  the  lead,  and  then 
no  matter  what  the  subject  might  be — he  would 
fall  in,  and  gradually  become  very  eloquent  and 
powerful,  sometimes  perfectly  overwhelming.  He 
showed  me  the  original  manuscript  of  Hall's  famous 
sermon  on  infidelity,  for  which  he  said  he  had  been 
offered  twenty  pounds  ;  and  I  noticed  the  substitu- 
tion in  pencil  of  the  word  pierce  for  penetrate — a 
well-known  incident,  I  might  almost  say,  in  the 


OLINTHUS    GEEGOKY.  155 

history  of  English  literature.  He  had  a  few  of 
Hall's  manuscript  sermons,  or  rather  outlines  of  ser- 
mons, one  of  which  he  gave  me  as  a  keepsake,  and 
which  I,  of  course,  preserve  as  a  great  treasure.  I 
am  not  aware  that  there  is  another  on  this  side 
the  Atlantic.  He  showed  me,  also,  as  a  great  curi- 
osity, a  book  which  contained  many  notes  in  the 
handwriting  of  John  Bunyan,  and  which  he  had 
with  him  while  he  was  writing  his  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress in  Bedford  Jail. 

I  incidentally  mentioned  to  Dr.  Gregory,  that 
Kobert  Hall  had  professed  to  me  a  degree  of  faith 
in  ghosts  and  other  supernatural  demonstrations, 
that  rather  surprised  me.  The  Doctor,  without  say- 
ing directly  that  he  was  a  convert  to  the  same  doc- 
trine, immediately  stated  several  facts,  which  he 
said  had  come  within  his  knowledge,  that  gave  me 
reason  to  infer  it  ;  one  or  two  of  which  were  so  re- 
markable, that  I  will  venture  to  relate  them  upon 
his  authority.  He  said  there  was  a  little  girl  living 
in  his  neighbourhood,  who  was,  at  a  certain  time, 
greatly  distressed  by  an  impression  that  her  brother 
had  died  in  India.  They  tried  to  laugh  her  out  of 
it ;  but  she  kept  on  weeping  from  day  to  day.  At 
length,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  family,  the  in- 
telligence came  that  he  was  dead ;  and  while  all  the 
rest  were  overwhelmed  with  the  tidings,  the  little 
girl  seemed  quite  indifferent.  When  she  was  re- 
proached by  her  mother  for  her  apparent  insensi- 
bility, she  replied  that  she  knew  of  his  death  at  the 


156  OLINTHUS    GREGORY. 

time  it  occurred,  and  that  she  had  had  time  to  re- 
cover from  the  effect  of  it ;  and  they  found,  upon 
recollection,  that  the  time  which  she  had  mentioned 
was  the  very  time  of  his  death.  A  similar  case  oc- 
curred, at  a  later  period,  in  respect  to  her  father, 
who  professed  to  be  incredulous  concerning  her  im- 
pressions. When  he  was  going  away  to  join  the 
army,  he  charged  her  not  to  communicate  to  her 
mother  any  impression  she  might  have  in  respect 
to  him.  Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  she 
suddenly  burst  into  tears,  and  appeared  quite  in- 
consolable. The  family  inquired  the  cause,  but  she 
evaded.  The  next  morning,  as  she  saw  an  officer 
coming  with  letters,  she  uttered  a  shriek.  He,  how- 
ever, passed  the  gate  ;  and,  as  he  passed,  she  was 
heard  to  say — "  Thank  God — is  it  possible  !"  But 
immediately  another  officer  came,  bringing  the  tid- 
ings of  her  father's  death. 

Dr.  Gregory  told  me  that  the  great  mathematician, 
Bonycastle,  had  formerly  occupied  the  house  in  which 
he  himself  then  lived ;  and,  on  a  certain  occasioi 
Mrs.  Bonycastle  and  her  daughter  both  saw  Mrs.  B.; 

w 

brother,  who  was  known  to  be  at  a  distance,  going 
down  stairs — the  stairs  to  which  Dr.  Gregory  then 
pointed  me.  Bonycastle  laughed  at  them,  but  stil 
noted  the  time,  to  see  if  anything  disastrous  oc 
cured  ;  in  due  time  the  intelligence  came,  that  thi 
moment,  so  far  as  could  be  ascertained,  was  the  me 
ment  of  the  brother's  death.  Bonycastle  and 
wife,  Dr.  Gregory  said,  were  both  infidels  ;  thou^ 


OLINTHUS    GREGORY.  157 

he  was  not  without  severe  compunction.  The  Doc- 
tor once  saw  him  when  he  was  very  ill ;  and  his  wife 
rebuked  him  for  complaining,  and  bid  him  look  to 
his  philosophical  principles  for  support.  He  replied, 
"  Philosophy  is  good  for  nothing  now,  my  dear ; 
Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy  upon  me."  She  accounted 
for  the  remark,  by  saying  that  his  mind  was  evi- 
dently wandering.  He  had  once  been  a  member  of 
an  evangelical  church,  but  had  become  an  apostate. 
Dr.  Gregory  did  his  utmost  to  reclaim  him,  but  he 
found  that  his  influence  was  entirely  neutralized  by 
a  club  of  infidels  in  London,  with  whom  Bonycastle 
had  unfortunately  become  associated. 

I  had  supposed,  before  my  personal  acquaintance 
with  Dr.  Gregory,  that  he  was  a  low-church  Epis- 
copalian ;  but,  instead  of  that,  I  found  that  he  was 
an  open-communion  Baptist.  He  was,  however,  a 
truly  liberal  Christian,  and  evinced  a  cordial  sym- 
pathy with  all  who  were  striving  for  the  common 
cause  of  truth  and  righteousness.  He  said  he  felt 
quite  at  home  in  any  denomination  that  recognized 
what  he  considered  the  leading  truths  of  the  Gospel ; 
though,  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  he  and  his 
family  attended  the  Episcopal  Church.  Bishop  Mcll- 
vaine  had  visited  him,  while  he  was  in  England, 
and  he  had  formed  a  strong  attachment  to  him,  and 
thought  him  an  admirable  model  of  a  Bishop.  He 
had  been  greatly  afflicted,  not  long  before,  by  the 
sudden  death  of  a  son,  I  think,  by  drowning ;  and 
he  adverted  to  the  event  with  great  solemnity,  and 


158  OLINTHUS    GREGORY. 

yet  with  much  apparent  submission.  He  said  he 
had  spent  months  in  inquiring  wherefore  the  Lord 
had  thus  afflicted  him.  The  only  members  of  his 
family  whom  I  saw,  were  his  wife  and  one  daughter ; 
both  of  whom  were  ladies  of  fine  intellect,  engaging 
manners,  and  apparently  of  ardent  piety. 


XXIII. 


residence  of  Miss  LUCY  AIKEN  was  at  Hamp- 
stead,  some  four  or  five  miles  from  the  heart  of 
London.  One  of  her  intimate  friends,  Mr.  K.,  from 
whom  also  I  received  great  kindness,  offered  me  an 
introduction  to  her ;  and,  as  she  was  one  of  the  lion- 
esses of  the  day,  I  gladly  availed  myself  of  it.  I 
found  her  dwelling,  after  a  little  more  than  half  an 
hour's  ride,  and,  on  sending  in  my  letter,  was  im- 
mediately invited  into  the  parlour,  where  she  was 
sitting  with  an  elderly  gentleman,  to  whom  I  was 
not  introduced.  As  there  was  no  excess  -of  cordiality 
in  her  manner  of  receiving  me,  I  could  not  but  sus- 
pect that  she  would  have  been  easily  reconciled  to  any 
providence  that  had  kept  me  away ;  however,  as  I 
was  actually  there,  I  thought  the  best  thing  I  could 
do,  both  for  her  and  myself,  was  to  make  my  call  as 
brief  as  would  consist  with  decency. 


160  MISS    LUCY    A  I  KEN. 

r 

She  was    rather  short    and    stout  in  her  person, 

seemed  to  be  about  fifty  years  old,  and  had  a  coun- 
tenance more  bright  and  intelligent  than  gentle  and 
lovely.  Her  manners  were  characterized  by  great 
directness,  and  there  was  a  straightforward,  business- 
like air  about  her,  amounting  sometimes  even  to  ab- 
ruptness, which  was  fitted  to  make  one  almost  regret 
that  she  belonged  to  the  gentler  sex.  She  began  al- 
most immediately  to  talk  about  Dr.  Channing,  and  her 
admiration  of  his  writings  and  reverence  for  his  char- 
acter seemed  to  know  no  bounds.  I  found  that  she 
was  in  habits  of  correspondence  with  him,  and 
seemed  annoyed  that  it  had  been  a  long  time  since 
he  had  written  to  her.  She  spoke  of  several  Ameri- 
cans with  respect  ;  but  Dr.  Channing  was  the  only 
one,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  who  had  made  much 
impression  upon  her.  She  talked  a  good  deal  about 
a  controversy  which  was  then  going  forward  in  Lon- 
don, between  the  Unitarians  and  the  Orthodox — I 
think  on  the  subject  of  Lady  Hewley's  charities  ;  and, 
though  she  did  not  express  a  very  decisive  opinion  in 
respect  to  it,  I  could  see  clearly  that  she  leaned  to 
the  side  of  the  Unitarians ;  which,  certainly,  was  not 
strange,  as  she  was  understood  to  be  strongly  at- 
tached to  that  denomination.  She  spoke  incident- 
ally of  her  near  relative,  Mrs.  Barbauld,  but  said 
nothing  that  gave  me  any  new  ideas  of  her  char- 
acter. She  rendered  a  very  strong  testimony  also 
in  favour  of  her  neighbour,  Miss  Joanna  Baillie,  and 
seemed  to  speak  as  if  she  was  quite  her  beau  ideal 


MISS    JOANNA    BAILLIE.  161 

of  a  woman.  I  left  her,  not  at  all  wondering  that 
she  should  have  written  the  Memoirs  of  the  Court  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  but  feeling  that  her  character  would 
not  have  suffered  by  a  more  liberal  infusion  of  fem- 
inine grace  and  gentleness. 

Miss  BAILLIE  lived  within  perhaps  a  hundred  rods 
of  Miss  Aiken,  and  it  was  at  her  house  that  I  made 
my  next  call.  She  was  then  seventy-two  years  of 
age  ;  and  her  sister,  who  was  living  with  her,  could 
not  have  been  much  younger.  In  everything,  ex- 
cept vigour  of  mind  and  intelligence,  she  was  quite 
the  opposite  of  Miss  Aiken.  She  was  rather  tall 
and  slender  in  her  person,  and  there  was  more  of 
benignity  than  of  high  intellect  expressed  in  her 
countenance.  She  had  a  quiet,  gentle,  and  yet  ex- 
ceedingly lady-like  manner,  and  the  spirit  of  benevo- 
lence seemed  to  come  out  in  everything  that  she 
said  and  did.  One  of  her  friends  in  London  had 
written  her  of  my  intended  visit,  and  she  said  that 
they  had  expected  me  for  a  day  or  two,  and  had 
been  staying  at  home  that  they  might  not  miss  me — 
which  I  very  well  understood  to  mean,  that  I  might 
not  miss  them.  She  told  me  that  she  had  lived  in 
London  and  its  neighbourhood  for  about  half  a  cen- 
tury ;  and  when  I  remarked  to  her  that  she  had  not 
lived  there  long  enough  to  lose  entirely  her  Scottish 
accent,  she  said  "  No  ;"  she  believed  that  that  never 
happened  after  a  person  was  twenty  years  old.  She 
told  me  that  her  father  was  Professor  of  Theology 


162  MISS    JOANNA    BAILLIE. 

in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  and  with  great  rev- 
erence pointed  me  to  his  portrait,  which  hung  in 
another  room.  She  expressed  her  regret  that  she 
had  never  seen  Hannah  More,  though  she  con- 
sidered her  as  one  of  the  brightest  lights  of  her 
generation,  or  of  any  other.  She  talked  with  great 
enthusiasm,  also,  concerning  Dr.  Chalmers  ;  but  she 
was  evidently  far  from  subscribing  to  some  of  his 
opinions.  She  spoke  of  the  Scottish  Church  with 
great  reverence,  and  greatly  preferred  it  to  the  Eng- 
lish. ,  I  could  see  that  she  had  some  partiality  for 
the  system  of  patronage,  and  she  expressed  her  ap- 
prehension that  the  reform  might  be  carried  to  an* 
injurious  extreme.  She  had,  a  short  time  before, 
published  two  plays,  which  were  just  then  being 
acted  at  the  different  theatres.  She  had  intended 
that  they  should  be  posthumous,  and  be  edited  by 
her  nephew  ;  but,  as  he  was  threatened  seriously  with 
a  decline,  and  it  had  become  very  doubtful  whether 
he  would  survive  her,  she  determined  to  send  them 
forth  during  her  lifetime.  She  said  nothing  in  my 
hearing  from  which  I  could  infer  what  were  her  re- 
ligious opinions ;  but  it  was  well  understood  that 
she  was  an  Arian.  She  professed  to  have  examined 
the  Scriptures  with  great  care,  and,  as  the  result, 
to  have  given  up  her  faith  in  the  proper  divinity  of 
the  Saviour.  Her  character  seemed  to  be  a  beauti- 
ful compound  of  intelligence,  loveliness,  and  vener- 
able simplicity. 


MBS.    ELIZABETH    FRY.  163 

At  the  time  of  my  visit  in  England,  there  were 
few  persons,  male  or  female,  who  were  in  greater  re- 
pute, especially  in  the  walks  of  philanthropy,  than 
Mrs.  FEY.  It  was  quite  an  object  with  me  to  ob- 
tain an  introduction  to  her,  and  I  succeeded  in 
accomplishing  it  with  great  ease.  She  was  a  noble — 
I  should  say,  a  splendid  looking  woman  ;  consider- 
ably above  the  ordinary  height,  and  of  a  remarkably 
symmetrical  form ;  with  a  countenance  indicative  of 
great  vigour  of  mind,  and  strength  of  purpose,  and 
with  a  general  air  and  bearing  more  dignified  and 
impressive  than  I  have  often  met  with  in  a  lady. 
Withal,  her  face  expressed  great  benevolence  ;  and, 
when  I  knew  that  it  was  Mrs.  Fry  with  whom  I  was 
conversing,  it  seemed  to  me  that  she  looked  ex- 
actly as  a  person  of  her  character  might  be  ex- 
pected to  look.  Her  great  mission,  at  that  time, 
was  reading  the  Scriptures  once  or  twice  a  week  to 
the  wretched  inmates  of  Newgate.  I  was  very  de- 
sirous of  being  present  at  one  of  those  readings  ; 
and,  as  soon  as  she  knew  my  wish,  she  assured  me 
that  it  should  be  gratified.  Accordingly,  by  previous 
appointment,  I  met  her  at  the  prison,  and  witnessed 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and  impressive  services 
at  which  I  have  ever  been  present.  I  entered 
the  prison  just  as  the  female  prisoners  were  going 
up  into  the  room  where  Mrs.  Fry  was  to  meet 
them.  There  were  about  forty,  all  decently  and 
uniformly  dressed,  and  nearly  every  one  having  in 
her  hand  a  Bible.  Thev  had  all  been  tried  and  sen- 


164  MKS.    ELIZABETH    FRY. 

tencecl  for  some  crime  or  other,  and  most  of  them 
had  been  taken  from  the  streets — the  very  refuse  of 
society.  Several  of  them  had  babies  in  their  arms, 
that  were  playful  and  smiling  in  their  unconscious 
degradation.  Mrs.  Fry  read  the  twelfth  chapter  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Kornans,  and  the  thirteenth  Psalm  ; 
commenting  a  little  upon  each  with  great  propriety 
and  feeling.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  appro- 
priate and  beautiful  than  her  manner  of  reading.  I 
could  not  imagine  that  Dr.  Mason  himself — perhaps 
the  finest  model  of  a  reader  which  the  American 
pulpit  has  furnished — ever  read  the  twelfth  chapter 
of  Eomans  more  impressively  than  Mrs.  Fry  did  on 
that  occasion.  And  it  had  its  effect  upon  other 
minds  than  mine  ;  for  I  saw  some,  who  looked  like 
veterans  in  crime,  burying  their  faces  in  their  hands, 
as  if  overwhelmed  with  compunction  at  least,  if  not 
with  penitence.  At  the  close  of  the  reading,  which, 
in  connexion  with  the  comments  that  accompanied, 
and  a  brief  exhortation  that  followed  it,  lasted,  per- 
haps, three-quarters  of  an  hour,  the  different  moni- 
tors (one  from  each  ward)  came  up  successively  and 
rendered  in  their  account ;  and  all  the  reports,  with 
one  or  two  exceptions,  were  very  good.  There 
was  a  young  gentleman  who  came  in  to  see  Mrs. 
Fry,  just  after  the  exercise  had  closed,  who  looked 
very  modest  and  retiring ;  but  I  was  surprised  to 
find  that  it  was  a  noble  lord,  who  took  the  deepest 
interest  in  her  philanthropic  enterprise.  She  gave 
me  a  most  interesting  account  of  her  labours,  am 


MBS.    ELIZABETH     FBY.  165 

assured  me  that  she  had  good  reason  to  believe  that 
the  Word  of  God,  as  read  by  her,  had  been  the 
power  of  God  to  the  salvation  of  a  goodly  number 
of  those  wretched  beings.  I  perceived  that  all  her 
movements  towards  them  were  kind  and  winning, 
and  their  treatment  of  her  seemed  most  deferential 
and  grateful.  I  did  not  think  it  strange  that  the 
Emperor  Alexander  should  have  pronounced  her  one 
of  the  wonders  of  the  age.  Though  she  talked  with 
the  Quaker  precision,  the  style  of  her  conversation 
was  worthy  of  the  court.  She  wished  me  to  visit 
her  at  her  house,  but  I  could  not.  She,  however, 
sent  me  a  little  book,  containing  an  account  of  her 
self-denying  labours,  and  gave  me  also  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  her  brother,  Joseph  John  Gurney, 
whom  she  wished  me  to  visit  at  Norwich.  It  is 
several  years  since  she  has  passed  away ;  but  the 
record  of  her  good  deeds  will  pass  away — never. 


XXIV. 


e&ba& 


AN  my  first  visit  to  England,  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  making  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  SMITH,  though 
it  was  but  once  or  twice  that  I  met  him,  and  my 
intercourse  with  him  was  only  sufficient  to  make  me 
deeply  regret  that  it  could  not  be  more  extended. 
On  my  return  to  London,  after  a  number  of  years,  I 
was  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  renew  my  acquaintance 
with  him,  and  the  more  so,  as  he  had  been  steadily 
advancing  in  influence  and  reputation  ;  and  his 
name,  by  that  time,  was  scarcely  less  honoured  in 
our  country  than  in  his  own.  I  availed  myself  of 
an  early  opportunity  to  call  upon  him,  and  he  very 
pleasantly  recognized  our  former  acquaintance,  and 
expressed  a  wish  that  I  would  give  him  as  much  of 


DR.  JOHN    PYE    SMITH.  167 

my  time   during  my  stay  in  the  neighbourhood   as 
should  suit  my  convenience. 

Dr.  Smith  was  rather  slender  in  person,  and  yet 
exceedingly  well  formed,  with  a  face  remarkable  for 
the  harmonious  blending  of  different  qualities,  and 
especially  for  delicacy  of  expression.  Had  I  only 
seen  him  without  knowing  who  he  was,  I  think  I 
should  have  been  more  impressed  with  the  moral 
than  the  intellectual,  and  should  have  imagined 
that  he  had  rather  a  beautiful  mind  than  a  power- 
ful one  ;  that  he  was  rather  a  student  than  a  genius  ; 
but  every  one  knows,  that  he  was  not  only  a  great 
scholar,  but  an  earnest  and  vigorous  thinker.  In  ap- 
proaching you  at  first,  there  was  a  sort  of  modest 
reserve,  which,  however,  soon  wore  off,  and  revealed 
to  you  a  truly  benignant  spirit,  high  intellectual 
endowments,  and  a  thoroughly  accomplished  gentle- 
man. There  was  something  in  his  personal  appear- 
ance that  did  not  leave  it  to  your  choice  whether  to 
respect  and  honour  him  or  not — the  impression  that 
he  was  a  man  of  distinguished  worth  was,  from  the 
beginning,  irresistible ;  and  it  must  have  been  no 
ordinarily  debased  type  of  humanity  that  could  have 
even  meditated  a  wound  upon  his  refined  and  gen- 
erous sensibilities.  Dr.  Smith,  at  the  time  to  which 
I  now  refer,  had  become  exceedingly  deaf,  so  that 
it  was  not  without  some  difficulty  that  he  could  bear 
his  part  in  ordinary  conversation.  He  had  been, 
for  a  year  or  two,  labouring  under  some  serious 
malady,  which,  it  was  supposed,  for  some  time,  would 


168  DR.  JOHN    PYE    SMITH. 

prove  fatal ;  but  it  had  finally  yielded,  in  a  meas- 
ure, to  the  use  of  stimulants,  to  which,  however,  he 
had  consented  only  as  a  last  resort,  and  with  the 
greatest  reluctance. 

The  subject  which,  more  than  any  other,  occupied 
Dr.    Smith    at   that   time,   was    the    great    question 
of   the    union    of    Church    and    State  ;    which    was 
felt  then,  as  it  is  now,  in  deep  and  ominous  vibra- 
tions to  the  very  heart  of  the  nation.     Perhaps  no 
voice  among  the  Dissenters  was  lifted  up  with  more 
power  or  more  effect,  on  this  exciting  subject,  than 
his ;  but,  while  he  was  bold  and  earnest,  he  never 
lost  his  dignity  or  self-command ;  and  the  most  zeal- 
ous churchman  could  not  but  do  homage  to  his  can- 
dour £nd  ability.      He  seemed  to  think  that  we  in 
this   country  had  but   a  very  inadequate    sense    of 
the  value  of  our  religious  liberty ;  and  that,  if  we 
could  bear,  for  a  single  year,  the  burden  which  the 
English  Dissenters    had    to  bear  all    the    time,   we 
should    prize    our  own    privileges  more,   and  feel  a 
deeper    sympathy  for    them.      Dr.    Smith    expressed 
the  kindest  feelings  towards  our  country,  and  great 
respect  for  some   of  our  distinguished  scholars  and 
professors.      He  was    in    the    habit  of   reading    the 
Theological  Beview,  then  edited  by  the  Kev.  Leon- 
ard   Woods,    Jr.,    and,    though    he    was    generally 
greatly  pleased  with  the    articles,  he    expressed  de- 
cided   dissatisfaction  with  one,  on  Christian  Union, 
written  by  Bishop   S ,  which  he  thought  in- 
dicated a  wish  to  get  rid  of  all  sectarian  differences, 


ROBERT    ASPLAND.  169 

by  merging  all  the  different   denominations   in  the 
Episcopal  Church. 

Dr.  Smith  gave  me  an  interesting  account  of  the 
service  to  which  his  chapel  (the  gravel-pit  meeting) 
had  been  put,  in  the  different  periods  of  its  history. 
It  had  been  occupied  by  Dr.  Price,  whose  minis- 
trations were  Arian  ;  then  by  Dr.  Priestley,  pre- 
vious to  his  coming  to  America  ;  then  by  Belsham, 
then  by  Aspland,  who  was,  at  that  time,  one  of  the 
most  popular  Unitarian  preachers  in  London ;  and 
finally  by  himself.  It  was  somewhat  remarkable 
that  each  of  these  distinguished  Unitarians  (unless 
Belsham  was  an  exception,  and  I  think  he  was  not) 
was  originally  orthodox,  and  had  preached  the  ortho- 
dox faith.  ASPLAND  started  as  a  Baptist,  and  was 
an  intimate  friend,  I  believe  a  fellow  student,  of 
Dr.  Cox,  of  Hackney.  I  saw  Aspland,  and  found 
him  altogether  courteous  and  obliging,  and  evi- 
dently a  man  of  commanding  intellect.  Of  Dr.  Cox 
and  Dr.  Smith  he  spoke  in  terms  of  great  respect, 
and  that,  notwithstanding  he  regarded  Dr.  Smith  as 
the  great  champion  on  the  orthodox  side  of  the 
Unitarian  controversy.  I  understood  that  he  had 
stated,  that  his  first  departure  from  orthodoxy  origin- 
ated in  his  being  suspected  by  a  Church  clergyman 
of  being  an  Arian ;  and  that  the  same  clergyman 
had  cautioned  him  against  Arianism,  as  being  very 
unfavourable  to  pulpit  eloquence  J 

Having  alluded  to   Aspland,  I   cannot  forbear  to 

8 


170  JOHN     TOWEL  I,     R  U  T  T  . 

say  a  word  about  two  other  distinguished  Unitarians, 
into  whose  company  I  was  thrown.  One  of  them 
was  JOHN  TOWELL  KUTT,  a  man  then  venrino; 

'  O        O 

towards  four-score,  the  father-in-law  of  the  cele- 
brated Talfourd.  One  of  my  friends,  who  knew  him 
intimately,  assured  me  that  he  was  a  very  remark- 
able man,  and  proposed  to  invite  him  to  meet  me 
at  breakfast.  He  was  uncommonly  vigorous  for  his 
years,  and  seemed  to  know  everybody  that  had  lived, 
and  everything  that  had  happened,  while  he  had 
been  upon  the  stage.  His  face,  though  furrowed 
with  years,  was  constantly  lighted  up  with  anima- 
tion and  benevolence.  He  had  known  Dr.  Priestley 
most  intimately,  and  was  the  author  of  his  life,  in 
three  octavo  volumes,  of  which  he  gave  me  a  copy. 
He  was,  also,  a  warm  friend  and  great  admirer  of 
Gilbert  Wakefield  ;  and  when,  as  he  spoke  of  him, 
I  understood  him  to  say,  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  he 
replied,  "  You  must  allow  me  to  say,  Sir,  that  I 
think  that  a  very  great  instance  of  the  bathos." 
He  told  me  that  as  I  had  fallen  in  with  one  Uni- 
tarian in  himself,  he  was  very  desirous  of  introduc- 
ing me  to  another — the  celebrated  GEORGE  DYER, 
author  of  the  Life  of  Robert  Kobinson,  and  several 
other  works — who,  he  said,  was  decidedly  a  char- 
acter. I  readily  consented  to  accompany  him, 
though  I  had  no  idea  what  sort  of  a  person  I  was 
to  see,  or  what  constituted  the  attraction.  We 
were  accompanied  by  Mr.  B.,  the  friend  who  had 
invited  us  to  breakfast,  and  who  also  knew  George 


GEORGE    DYER.  171 

» 

Dyer  well ;  and,  on  our  way  to  his  lodgings,  I  learned 
that  he  was  distinguished  as  a  highly  gifted  man 
and  an  author,  but  still  more  for  his  eccentricity. 
Mr.  B.  mentioned  that  he  once  met  him  in  such  a 
fit  of  absence  that  when  he  approached  him,  Dyer 
thought  him  a  pickpocket,  and  began  to  make  a 
vigorous  defence  of  himself  with  his  cane.  He  was 
an  old  man,  not  much  short  of  eighty,  had  a  re- 
markably benevolent  face,  and  was  stone  blind.  We 
kept  him  talking  about  old  times  and  old  things, 
and  his  connexion  with  the  distinguished  men  of 
the  preceding  generation  ;  and  on  every  topic  that 
was  introduced  he  showed  himself  quite  at  home. 
He  had  been  married  in  his  old  age  to  his  laun- 
dress ;  and  he  incidentally  paid  her  the  compliment 
to  say,  that  "she  made  him  an  excellent  wife,  but 
that,  unfortunately,  she  could  render  him  no  assist- 
ance by  reading  or  writing,  as  her  education  was 
very  defective."  When  he  spoke  of  something  that 
he  had  intended  to  do  before  he  was  laid  upon  the 
shelf,  Mr.  Kutt  said,  referring  to  his  publications, 
"  But  you  did  not  go  upon  the  shelf  yourself  till 
you  had  put  some  very  valuable  things  there" — a 
compliment  which  the  old  gentleman  evidently  did 
not  disrelish.  He  was  remarkably  affectionate  in 
his  manner,  and  seemed  unwilling  to  let  go  of  my 
hand ;  and  finally  he  said,  much  to  my  surprise, 
"  You  are  a  Unitarian  minister,  are  you  not  ?"  As 
I  answered  in  the  negative,  Mr.  Kutt  added  fa- 
cetiously— "  Though  he  is  not  a  Unitarian,  his 


172 


GEORGE    DYER. 


orthodoxy  does  not  prevent  his  walking  the  streets 
with  us."  Neither  Dyer  nor  Kutt  survived  many 
years  after  I  saw  them.  Aspland,  too,  is  no  longer 
among  the  living.  Indeed,  a  large  part  of  those 
whose  acquaintance  I  made  less  than  twenty  years 
ago,  have  passed  the  dark  boundary. 


XXV. 


AND 


T  HAD  become  interested  in  the  character  of  Mr. 
PRATT,  chiefly  as  the  biographer  of  Cecil ;  but 
had  heard  of  him  through  other  channels  as  one  of 
the  most  respectable  and  excellent  ministers  of  the 
Church  of  England.  I  had  no  difficulty  in  getting 
an  introduction  to  him,  and  I  gladly  accepted  an 
invitation  from  him  to  breakfast.  He  was  rather  a 
thick,  portly  man,  and  his  countenance  and  manner 
evinced  great  sincerity  and  benevolence.  Nothing 
about  him,  however,  was  more  remarkable  than  his 
piety.  He  was  social  and  cheerful,  and  did  not 
scruple  a  pleasant  anecdote  ;  but  nobody,  who  no- 
ticed the  tenor  of  his  conversation,  could  doubt 
that  his  affections  were  strongly  fixed  upon  Heaven. 
He  was  at  that  time  sixty-eight  years  old,  seemed 
to  be  in  his  full  vigour,  and  preached  at  least  once 
every  Sabbath.  His  general  appearance  and  man- 


174  JOSIAH    PRATT. 

ner  reminded  me  forcibly  of  the  excellent  Dr.  Mil- 
nor  ;  and,  unless  I  greatly  mistake,  there  was  a  cor- 
responding resemblance  in  their  characters. 

I  was  desirous  of  learning  from  him  as  much  as 
I  could  concerning  Cecil ;  but,  though  he  expressed 
the  utmost  admiration  of  his  character,  I  do  not 
remember  that  he  said  anything  that  threw  new  light 
upon  it.  He  talked  more,  I  think,  of  the  Yenns 
than  he  did  of  Cecil.  He  told  me  that  the  elder 
Venn  (Henry)  was  a  man  of  great  exuberance  of 
feeling,  and  was  working  a  reformation  in  the  Es- 
tablished Church,  while  Whitefield  and  Wesley  were 
doing  the  same  thing  out  of  it ;  that  the  second 
Venn,  (of  Clapham,)  whose  sermons  have  obtained 
a  good  deal  of  celebrity,  possessed  a  fine  mind,  but 
was  of  rather  an  indolent  habit,  and  rarely  began 
his  preparation  for  the  Sabbath  till  Saturday  even- 
ing. He  remarked  that  the  memoir  of  Henry  Venn 
had  then  lately  been  published  by  his  grandson,  wl 
resided  at  High  Gate  ;  and  that  the  reason  why 
had  been  so  long  delayed  was,  that  he  preachec 
some  time  in  Kowland  Hill's  chapel,  and  some  of 
his  relatives  thought  that  was  a  circumstance  which 
would  not  bear  to  be  stated.  Mr.  Pratt  introduced 
me  to  his  son,  who  was  then  a  curate,  and  I  am 
not  sure  but  that  he  was  officiating  in  the  same 
church  with  his  father. 

With  Mr.  HORNE,  the  author  of  the  Introductioi 
to   the   Studv  of   the    New   Testament,    I   had   ha 


THOMAS    H.ARTWELL    HORNE.  175 

some  correspondence,  and,  therefore,  felt  at  liberty 
to  call  upon  him  without  an  introduction.  He  was 
rather  below  the  middle  size  ;  was  very  bald,  and 
had  an  agreeable,  but  not  particularly  striking,  face. 
As  everybody  has  a  hobby,  I  quickly  found  that  his 
was  nothing  less  than  the  "Anglican  Church  as  the 
great  bulwark  of  Protestanism."  He  seemed  grati- 
fied to  know  that  his  work  had  found  so  much  favour 
in  this  country,  and  gave  me  somewhat  in  detail 
its  history,  from  its  inception  to  its  completion.  He 
said  nothing  which  indicated  that  he  bore  any  ill- 
will  towards  the  Dissenters  ;  but  the  Koman  Catho- 
lic Church  he  regarded  as  a  mere  nest  of  abomina- 
tions, and  had  no  doubt  that  Protestantism  had  yet 
to  fight  a  mighty  battle.  He  lived  in  a  plain  but 
agreeable  way,  and  his  family  consisted  of  his  wife 
and  daughter,  one  or  more  of  his  children  having, 
not  long  before,  been  removed  by  death.  He 
preached  on  the  evening  of  the  day  that  I  dined 
with  him,  and  I  attended  the  service.  His  sermon, 
which  was  on  the  fall  and  recovery  of  Peter,  was 
plain,  but  sensible  and  excellent.  It  was  closely  read, 
unaccompanied,  so  far  as  I  remember,  with  either 
gesture  or  much  apparent  fervour.  The  reading  of 
the  service  by  some  curate  was  bad  enough,  but  the 
reading  of  the  hymns  by  the  clerk  cast  all  other 
monotonies  that  ever  fell  upon  my  ear  into  deep 
shade.  The  church  was  in  Nicholas  Lane,  Lom- 
bard Street — a  very  dark  street  in  the  heart  of 
London  ;  but  it  was  a  fine  old  piece  of  architecture, 


176  THOMAS    HARTWELL    HORNE. 

and  bore  marks  of  the  genius  of  Sir  Christopher 
Wren.  Mr.  Home  must,  I  think,  be  one  of  the 
most  industrious  men  living.  Besides  performing 
all  the  duties  of  a  parish  minister,  he  had  an  office 
in  the  British  Museum,  which  kept  him  there  six 
or  eight  hours  of  each  day,  and,  in  addition  to  all 
this,  had  done  more  through  the  press  than  almost 
any  of  his  cotemporaries. 

Mr.  Home  seemed  to  me  to  possess  a  truly  liberal 
spirit,  and  to  feel  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  was 
doing  by  Christians  of  different  communions  for  the 
advancement  of  the  common  cause  of  truth  and 
righteousness.  He  is  truly  a  self-made  man,  and 
has  risen  to  his  present  eminence  by  dint  of  long- 
continued  and  unremitted  effort.  I  found  him  ex- 
tremely obliging,  and  more  than  willing  to  minister 
to  my  gratification  in  every  way  he  could.  I  occa- 
sionally correspond  with  him,  and  ana  always  de- 
lighted to  get  a  letter  dated  "  St.  Nicholas7  Kec- 
tory." 


XXVI. 


first  introduction  to  this  venerable  man  was 
within  a  few  days  after  my  arrival  in  London, 
in  1828.  I  had  no  letter  to  him  ;  but  was  casually 
introduced  to  his  son,  and  through  him  to  the  whole 
family.  Stranger  as  I  was,  they  immediately  invited 
and  even  urged  me  to  give  up  my  lodgings,  and 
make  my  abode  with  them  during  my  sojourn  in 
London ;  and,  though  I  had  many  misgivings  on 
the  score  of  delicacy,  considering  especially  the  man- 
ner of  my  introduction  to  them,  I  was  finally  in- 
duced to  forego  my  scruples  and  accept  their  hos- 
pitality. It  was  a  most  fortunate  circumstance  in 
the  history  of  my  travels  ;  for  it  was  not  only  the 
means  of  my  being  domesticated  for  several  weeks 
in  one  of  the  most  delightful  families  I  have  ever 
known,  on  either  side  of  the  water,  but  it  secured 
to  me  many  valuable  acquaintances  in  different  parts 
of  England,  and  gave  to  my  whole  visit  an  interest 
as  intense  as  it  was  unexpected. 

Mr.   WILSON,   when    I    first   saw  him,   must  have 

8* 


178  THOMAS    WILSON. 

been  about  sixty-four  or  sixty-five  years  of  age. 
He  was,  I  think,  fully  of  the  middle  height,  and 
every  way  well  proportioned.  He  had  what  might 
be  called  a  fine  face,  evincing  at  once  a  thoughtful 
and  reflecting  mind,  and  an  ingenuous  and  kindly 
spirit.  His  manners  were  more  remarkable  for  frank- 
ness and  benevolence  than  for  artificial  polish  ;  though 
he  could  nowhere  have  been  mistaken  for  any  other 
than  a  well-bred  gentleman.  He  was  very  sociable, 
and  much  of  his  conversation  was  of  a  serious  kind, 
having  a  direct  bearing  on  the  progress  of  Christian- 
ity in  the  world ;  but  he  always  seemed  cheerful, 
and  had,  evidently,  a  keen  relish  for  a  good  anecdote. 
Most  of  the  anecdotes  which  he  told,  however,  were 
illustrative  of  the  peculiarities,  the  trials,  or  the 
success,  of  some  of  the  clergymen  of  a  former  gener- 
ation. 

Mr.  Wilson's  history  is  one  of  uncommon  interest, 
and  is  perhaps  more  intimately  connected  with  the 
progress  of  religion  among  the  English  Dissenters, 
than  that  of  any  other  man  of  his  day.  He  was  a 
native  of  London,  and  in  his  boyhood  was  a  fellow- 
pupil  with  Rogers,  the  poet,  in  a  school  at  Kew- 
ington  Green.  When  he  was  about  fourteen  or 
fifteen,  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  business  of  a  silk 
manufacturer ;  and,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he 
became  a  partner  in  that  business  with  his  father. 
His  mind  was  much  directed  to  serious  subjects  from 
his  childhood  ;  and  the  good  impressions  which  were 
made  under  the  parental  roof  are  supposed  to  have 


THOMAS    WILSON.  179 

been  deepened  by  the  influence  of  the  Rev.  Timothy 
Priestley,  brother  of  Dr.  Joseph  Priestley,  with 
whom  he  was,  for  a  while,  in  somewhat  intimate  re- 
lations. About  the  time  his  apprenticeship  closed, 
he  became  connected  with  the  Tabernacle,  in  Lon- 
don, where  Matthew  Wilks  officiated  for  so  many 
years.  The  preaching  here,  though  deeply  evan- 
gelical and  experimental,  was  of  a  free  and  easy 
sort,  and  probably  contributed  much  to  form  Mr. 
Wilson's  taste ;  for  while  he  required  that  every 
sermon  should  penetrate  to  the  very  marrow  of  the 
Gospel,  he  had  no  patience  with  anything  like  self- 
display  in  the  pulpit,  and  could,  I  believe,  more 
easily  tolerate  excessive  freedom  than  excessive  for- 
mality. I  remember  his  giving  me  a  pleasant  hit 
on  the  subject  of  my  preaching  from  a  manuscript, 
and  expressing  the  opinion  that  the  best  place  for 
a  minister  to  carry  his  sermon  is  in  his  heart. 

About  the  year  1794,  Andrew  Fuller,  the  celebrated 
Baptist  minister,  went  to  London  to  preach  in  dif- 
ferent churches,  with  a  view  to  collect  funds  for  the 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,  at  that  time  in  its  in- 
fancy. Mr.  Wilson  was  greatly  struck  with  his 
preaching,  and  especially  with  his  impressive  illus- 
trations of  the  great  duty  of  Christian  beneficence. 
Though  he  had  not  previously  been  unmindful  of 
his  obligations  on  this  subject,  this  seems  to  have 
marked  an  epoch  in  his  experience  ;  and,  to  say  the 
least,  it  had  much  to  do  in  determining  the  direc- 
tion of  his  future  life.  Accordingly,  the  next  year 


180  THOMAS    WILSON. 

(1795),  he  assisted  in  forming  the  London  Mission- 
ary Society,  and  was  chosen  one  of  its  first  Direct- 
ors. Two  or  three  years  after,  being  now  quite  in- 
dependent in  his  worldly  circumstances,  he  retired 
from  active  business  with  a  view  to  devote  himself 
entirely  to  the  cause  of  Christian  benevolence,  es- 
pecially in  connexion  with  Hoxton  Academy — a  well- 
known  Dissenting  institution  for  the  education  of 
young  men  for  the  ministry.  This  was  one  of  the 
favourite  objects  of  his  life  ;  and  while  he  gave  most 
liberally  of  his  time  and  his  money  to  sustain  it, 
he  always  exercised  a  paternal  guardianship  over 
the  pupils,  and  suffered  no  opportunity  to  pass  un- 
improved for  aiding,  especially,  their  spiritual  growth. 
He  had  definite  and  well-considered  views  of  every 
part  of  ministerial  duty,  and  he  even  published  a 
tract,  containing  his  views,  which,  I  believe,  has  passed 
through  several  editions.  In  1799,  he  was  chairman  of 
the  meeting  that  resolved  to  form  the  (London)  Tract 
Society ;  and  he  continued  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee of  that  Society  until  1806,  when  he  resigned 
his  place  for  the  sake  of  giving  more  of  his  time 
to  other  objects.  He  had  a  hand,  also,  in  originat- 
ing the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  in  1804, 
and  was  always  found  among  its  efficient  auxiliaries 
till  the  close  of  life.  But  that  which  may  be  said 
to  have  emphatically  constituted  his  mission,  was 
the  repairing  of  old  chapels,  or  the  building  of 
new  ones,  in  almost  every  part  of  England.  Having 
had  a  large  accession  to  his  fortune,  by  means 


THOMAS    WILSON.  181 

a  legacy,  some  years  after  he  retired  from  secular 
business,  he  was  able,  without  embarrassment,  to 
meet  almost  innumerable  exigences  of  this  kind ; 
and  he  was  constantly  upon  the  look-out  for  such 
opportunities  of  exercising  his  benevolence.  He 
lived  in  no  more  expensive  style  than  his  general 
relations  to  society  demanded  ;  regarding  himself 
constantly  in  the  character  of  a  steward,  and  his 
property  in  the  light  of  a  deposit. 

Mr.  Wilson,  though  not  educated  for  the  ministry, 
occasionally  performed  the  functions  of  a  preacher. 
The  first  instance  of  it  occurred  in  this  way — He 
was  stopping  at  some  place  where  the  celebrated 
James  Haldane  was  expected  to  preach ;  but,  being 
prevented  from  fulfilling  his  engagement,  he  urged 
Mr.  Wilson  to  take  his  place.  Mr.  Wilson  con- 
sented to  the  proposal,  though  not  without  much 
reluctance ;  but  he  was  so  well  satisfied  with  the 
freedom  and  success  of  his  effort,  that  he  was  not 
unwilling  to  repeat  the  experiment ;  and  the  result 
was  that  he  preached  whenever  he  thought  there 
was  a  special  occasion  for  it,  and  for  some  time  took 
his  turn  regularly  with  several  of  the  London  min- 
isters in  preaching  to  the  inmates  of  the  Female 
Penitentiary.  I  did  not  hear  him  preach,  but  un- 
derstood that  he  was  very  evangelical  in  his  teach- 
ings, and  simple  and  earnest  in  his  manner. 

What  interested  me  more  than  perhaps  anything 
else  in  Mr.  Wilson's  conversation,  was  his  copious 
reminiscences  of  the  great  men,  especially  the  clis- 


182  THOMAS    WILSON. 

tinguished  ministers,  who  had  passed  off  the  stage. 
For  Whitefield's  memory  he  had  an  almost  un- 
bounded reverence.  I  think  he  had  no  distinct 
recollections  of  him,  though  he  was  taken  in  his  in- 
fancy to  see  him  on  a  certain  occasion,  when  he 
preached  in  the  Tabernacle  ;  but  his  early  associa- 
tions, as  well  as  his  later  tastes  and  convictions, 
were  all  in  favour  of  Whitefield's  preaching.  He 
was  well  acquainted  with  John  Bemdge,  White- 
field's  intimate  friend,  and  in  many  respects  a  kin- 
dred spirit.  He  thought  highly,  too,  of  John  Wes- 
ley ;  and  remembered  well  what  deep  and  extensive 
mourning  there  was  when  his  death  occurred,  and  he 
was  laid  out  in  his  gown  and  bands.  He  had  heard 
John  Newton  preach,  and  represented  him  as  the  very 
personification  of  evangelical  sincerity  and  earnestness  ; 
but,  if  my  memory  serves  me,  he  had  no  personal 
acquaintance  with  him.  Dr.  Bogue,  Dr.  Balfour, 
of  Glasgow,  the  accomplished  and  devout  Cecil,  and 
many  others,  he  was  able  to  describe  in  a  manner 
which  left  me  in  no  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  his 
recollections,  while  it  evinced  his  high  appreciation 
of  their  characters. 

Mr.  Wilson,  at  some  period  of  his  life,  publishe 
a  selection  of  Hymns  for  social  worship.  There  i 
also  from  his  pen  a  tract  on  Baptism  ;  in  which 
he  maintains  the  position,  that  all  parents  believ- 
ing the  Divine  authority  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  attending  the  means  of  religious  instruction, 
may  require  baptism  for  their  children,  even  though 


THOMAS    WILSON.  183 

they  may  not  consider  themselves  as  regenerate  per- 
sons. The  mode  of  administering  the  ordinance 
which  he  thought  most  scriptural,  was  by  affusion  ; 
though,  in  the  case  of  infants,  he  thought  that 
sprinkling  was  both  allowable  and  expedient. 

When  I  returned  to  London,  eight  years  after  my 
first  visit,  I  found  my  venerable  friend  as  hospitable, 
and  cheerful,  and  almost  as  active  as  ever.  The 
objects  for  which  he  was  labouring  were  the  same 
which  had  so  constantly  occupied  his  time  and 
thoughts  during  my  previous  visit ;  though  it  seemed 
to  me  that  his  affections  were  still  more  firmly  fixed 
upon  Heaven.  His  wife,  a  highly  cultivated,  amiable, 
benevolent,  and  devout  person,  was  still  alive — an 
efficient  fellow-helper  with  her  husband  unto  the 
kingdom  of  God.  When  we  parted,  it  was  with  a 
full  confidence  that  we  should  never  meet  again  on 
earth.  It  was  but  a  few  years  before  death  separ- 
ated them,  but  they  were  quickly  re-united  in  Heaven. 
They  left  two  daughters,  both  wives  of  clergymen, 
and  one  son,  who  is  a  faithful  representative  of  his 
father's  public  spirit  and  beneficence  ;  and  whom  I 
am  permitted  still  to  reckon  among  my  friends. 


XXVII 


AND 


AS  I  was  stepping  into  the  coach  at  Yar- 
-^  mouth,  to  go  to  Norwich,  I  was  introduced 
to  Dr.  Yelloly,  a  Fellow  of  the  Koyal  Society, 
and  a  person  of  considerable  note  in  the  literary, 
and  especially  the  medical,  circles  of  Great  Britain. 
He  was  going  to  Norwich,  and  thence  to  his  resi- 
dence at  Woodton,  a  few  miles  beyond,  where  he 
had  a  splendid  establishment.  As  he  was  well  ac- 
quainted at  Norwich,  and  knew  that  I  was  a  stranger 
there,  he  volunteered  to  render  me  any  service  that  I 
might  need  ;  and  I  availed  myself  very  freely  of 
his  kindness.  As  his  home  lay  in  the  direction  in 
which  I  was  to  travel,  he  made  me  promise  that, 
after  my  visit  at  Norwich,  I  would  come  and  pass 
at  least  a  night  with  him.  I  fulfilled  my  promise, 
and  found  myself  in  one  of  the  most  delightful 
families  that  I  met  in  England.  Though  I  was 


JOSEPH    JOHN    GURNEY.  185 

with  them  less  than  twenty-four  hours,  their  cordial 
and  whole-souled  manner,  and  devoted  attentions 
to  me,  left  an  impression  upon  my  mind  which  time, 
as  yet,  has  done  nothing  to  efface.  It  was  but  a 
few  years  that  they  remained  on  the  beautiful  spot 
which  they  then  occupied.  I  kept  track  of  them 
for  some  time,  but  the  last  I  knew  of  them  was, 
that  sad  worldly  reverses,  sickness  and  death,  had 
overwhelmed  them  with  desolation.  The  family,  as 
I  knew  it,  consisted  of  the  parents,  and,  I  believe, 
six  lovely  and  intelligent  daughters,  besides  a  son, 
who  was  an  Episcopal  clergyman  ;  but  how  many, 
or  whether  any  of  them,  survive  to  remember  the 
bright  and  joyous  days  of  their  youth,  I  know  not. 
My  introduction  to  Dr.  Yelloly  was  one  of  those 
little  and  (as  we  say)  accidental,  things,  which  one 
sometimes  meets  on  a  journey,  but  which  lead  to  re- 
sults that  are  never  forgotten. 

As  Dr.  Yelloly  went  with  me  to  Norwich,  so  he 
called  with  me  upon  JOSEPH  JOHN  GURNEY,  whom 
we  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  at  his  counting- 
house  ;  and  this  gave  me  the  advantage  of  a  double 
introduction,  as  I  had  already  an  introductory  note 
from  Mrs.  Fry  ;  and  I  found  that  she  had  informed 
him  by  a  letter,  of  my  intended  visit.  I  never,  in 


my  life,  felt  the  real  dignity  of  the  Quaker  as  I 
on  meeting  him.  When  Dr.  Yelloly  mentioned  my 
name,  he  gave  me  a  most  friendly  shake  of  the 
hand,  and  said  —  "  I  knew  thou  wert  coming  by  a 
letter  from  my  sister,  Elizabeth  Fry,  and  now  I 


186  JOSEPH    JOHN    GURNET. 

welcome  thee  to  Norwich,  and  hope  thou  wilt  stay 
and  make  us  a  good  visit."  His  residence  was  at 
Earlham,  two  miles  out  of  the  city.  "And  now/' 
said  he,  "thou  wilt  go  and  dine  with  me  at  five 
o'clock  ;  and  thou  wilt  go  too,  John,"  (speaking  to 
Dr.  Yelloly,)  "  and  I  will  send  an  invitation  to 
John  Alexander,"  (a  Congregational  clergyman,  to 
whom  I  had  a  letter,)  "also."  His  countenance 
beamed  with  generous  kindness,  and,  from  the  mo- 
ment that  I  first  set  eyes  upon  him,  I  felt  that 
he  was  no  common  specimen  of  humanity.  Every- 
thing that  I  saw  of  him  afterwards,  both  in  his 
own  circle  at  home,  and  in  this  country,  not  only 
justified,  but  rendered  still  deeper  and  more  defi- 
nite, my  first  impression. 

After  leaving  Mr.  Gurney,  the  Doctor,  my  newly- 
acquired  friend,  proposed  to  me,  before  going  to 
Mrs.  Opie's,  to  call  on  Lady  Smith,  the  widow  of  the 
late  Sir  James  Edward  Smith,  the  celebrated  bota- 
nist, who  was  a  person  of  high  endowments,  and,  I 
think,  was  her  husband's  biographer.  She  was  ex- 
tremely lady-like  and  affable,  and  took  from  me  at 
once  all  sense  of  the  stranger.  She  quite  found 
fault  with  me  for  having  arranged  for  so  short  a 
visit,  and  said  she  regretted  that  I  could  not  stay 
long  enough  to  give  her  the  opportunity  of  inviting 
some  of  her  friends  to  meet  me.  I  made  some  ref- 
erence to  Miss  Joanna  Baillie,  whom  I  had  seen  a 
few  days  before,  and  she  remarked  that  Miss  Baillie 
had  lately  published  a  small  work,  from  which  i 


MRS.     OPIE.  187 

appeared  that  she  was  an  Arian ;  and  this  led  us 
to  some  conversation  on  the  general  subject  of 
Unitarianism.  She  seemed  to  be  exceedingly  char- 
itable towards  differences  of  religious  opinion,  and 
thought  it  reasonable  to  expect  that,  in  the  pro- 
gress of  knowledge  on  all  other  subjects,  there 
would  be  a  corresponding  progress  in  religion.  I 
understood  that  Lady  Smith  had,  at  least,  a  nom- 
inal connexion  with  the  Established  Church,  but 
was  no  great  stickler  for  all  the  Thirty-nine  Arti- 
cles. She  was  altogether  a  splendid  woman — splen- 
did in  her  person,  her  manners,  and  her  intellectual 
endowments  ;  but  somebody  gave  me  a  portrait  of 
her — at  least  a  portrait  with  her  name  under  it — 
that  looks  as  if  she  had  just  escaped  from  Bedlam. 

From  Lady  Smith's  we  went  to  Mrs.  OPIE'S.  I 
had  previously  had  some  communication  with  her 
by  letter,  and  we  met  almost  as  old  friends.  She 
did  not  seem  to  me  to  be  a  natural  Quaker ;  and, 
though  I  saw  before  me  the  Quaker  dress,  and 
heard  the  thee  and  thou,  she  was  so  bright  and 
cheerful — I  might  almost  say,  gay — -that  it  really 
required  an  effort  for  me  to  believe  that  her  Quaker- 
ism was  a  matter  of  sober  reality.  However,  she 
really  was  a  bona  fide  member  of  the  Society,  and, 
I  doubt  not,  a  highly  exemplary  one,  too  ;  for,  not- 
withstanding the  buoyancy  of  her  spirits,  I  had,  af- 
terwards, evidence  that  she  was  truly  and  deeply 
devout.  Almost  the  first  thing  she  said  to  me  after 
I  met  her  was,  pointing  to  an  American  volume  of 


188  JOSEPH     JOHN     GURNET. 

sermons  that  lay  on  the  table,  "There,  I  am  in 
the  habit  of  reading  that  book  to  my  servants  on 
first-day  evening."  As  she  knew  that  I  had  just 
come  from  the  Continent,  she  made  many  inquiries 
concerning  my  tour ;  and  then  gave  me  many  in- 
teresting particulars  of  a  visit  which  she  had  made, 
not  long  before,  at  Paris.  She  was  a  short,  stout 
person,  and  seemed  to  me  then  to  be  verging  towards 
sixty ;  but  she  was,  evidently,  extremely  youthful 
in  her  feelings,  and  all  her  faculties  were  in  their 
full  vigour.  As  this  was  Saturday,  she  requested 
me  to  dine  with  her  on  Monday ;  and  when  I  told 
her  that  my  engagements  would  not  permit  it,  she 
invited  me  to  breakfast ;  and  that  invitation  I  ac- 
cepted. 

I  went,  -agreeably  to  appointment,  to  dine  with 
Mr.  Gurney.  He  lived  in  a  fine  old  mansion,  which 
had  been,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  was  then,  in  pos- 
session of  a  branch  of  Lord  Bacon's  family ;  though, 
for  the  fifty  years  preceding,  it  had  been  occupied 
by  the  Gurneys.  Mr.  Gurney  immediately  showed 
me  into  my  room,  as  he  called  it,  where  there  was 
a  good  fire,  and  every  preparation  made  for  my  pass- 
ing the  night ;  but  I  had  made  such  previous  ar- 
rangements that  I  was  obliged  to  deny  myself  the 
proffered  hospitality.  Mr.  Gurney  was  at  that  time 
a  widower,  and  his  family  consisted  of  two  chil- 
dren— a  son  and  a  daughter,  his  sister,  and  the 
sister  of  his  late  wife ;  and  he  had  also  two  or 
three  highly  intelligent  female  friends  passing 


JOSEPH    JOHN    GUENEY.  189 

little  time  with  him.  A  more  lovely  or  intelligent 
domestic  circle,  I  know  not  that  it  has  ever  been  my 
privilege  to  see  ;  it  was  the  highest  style  of  social 
refinement,  of  intellectual  and  moral  culture,  quali- 
fied by  the  beautiful  simplicity  of  a  truly  devout 
Quakerism.  They  did  me  the  honour  to  talk,  most 
of  the  evening,  of  my  country,  and  nothing  was  said 
even  about  slavery  itself,  that  I  could  not  cordially 
respond  to  ;  for  they  manifested  no  sympathy  with 
the  ultras,  and  reprobated  the  course  of  George 
Thompson,  whose  first  remarkable  mission  to  this 
country  had  just  before  terminated,  as  evil  in  itself, 
and  disastrous  in  its  tendency ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  they  looked  upon  slavery  as  our  great  na- 
tional calamity.  Mr.  Gurney  gave  me  a  very  inter- 
esting account  of  Dr.  Bathurst,  then  Bishop  of  Nor- 
wich. He  represented  him  as  an  uncommonly  calm, 
amiable,  and  gifted  man,  and,  in  the  main,  evan- 
gelical in  his  theology ;  while,  as  a  classical  scholar, 
he  had  few  superiors  ;  and,  as  a  specimen  of  his 
attainments  in  Greek,  he  mentioned  that  he  was 
able,  at  one  time,  to  repeat  the  whole  of  Homer's 
Iliad.  He  showed  me  a  quarto  manuscript  volume 
of  considerable  size,  containing  the  record  of  his 
conversations  with  various  distinguished  individuals, 
but  more  particularly  with  Dr.  Chalmers,  with  whom 
he  was  on  very  intimate  terms,  during  a  winter  he 
spent  in  Edinburgh  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  As 
he  perceived  that  I  was  much  interested  in  the 
parts  of  the  book  that  I  had  time  to  glance  at,  he 


190  JOSEPH    JOHN    GURNET. 

intimated  that,  perhaps,  he  might  have  a  copy  of 
it  made  for  me  ;  and  though  I  could,  of  course,  do 
nothing  but  discourage  it,  as  it  could  not  -be  the 
work  of  less  than  a  month,  I  found,  when  I  reached 
Liverpool,  some  two  months  after,  that  he  had  car- 
ried out  his  purpose,  and  had  sent  me  a  beautiful 
copy  of  the  book,  with  a  kind  inscription  to  me, 
at  the  beginning.  He  spoke  with  great  reverence 
and  affection  of  Wilberforce,  with  whom  he  had  an 
almost  fraternal  intimacy,  and  showed  me  many  let- 
ters from  him,  that  evinced  that  the  attachment 
was  mutual.  It  was  a  delightful  evening  that  I 
passed  at  Earlham,  and  one  to  which  my  mind  never 
reverts  but  with  gratitude  and  pleasure. 

The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  and  I  preached 
once  in  a  very  old  Independent  Chapel — the  same 
in  which  the  Kev.  Thomas  Scott  had  preached 
statedly  a  century  or  more  previous.  I  refer  to  the 
Thomas  Scott  who  was  one  of  Doddridge's  most 
intima-te  friends — whose  daughter  Doddridge  tried 
to  marry,  but  could  not ;  though  she  subsequently 
became  the  wife  of  Colonel  Williams,  of  Connecti- 
cut, who  was  then  on  a  visit  to  England,  and  wfyo 
had  previously  been  Kector  of  Yale  College.  A 
tablet  to  the  memory  of  this  old  gentleman  was  di- 
rectly behind  me,  as  I  stood  in  the  pulpit ;  and 
his  hand-writing  was  perfectly  familiar  to  me,  from 
having  read  many  of  his  letters,  which  his  daughter 
brought  with  her  when  she  came  to  America.  I  was 
introduced,  at  the  close  of  the  service,  to  a  Mr. 


MRS.  OPIE.  191 

Youngman,  son-in-law  of  the  celebrated  Thomas 
Harmer,  the  author  of  the  work  illustrating  Scrip- 
ture by  Oriental  usages.  This  Mr.  Youngman  was 
a  highly  intelligent  man,  and  an  author  of  consider- 
able reputation.  I  dined  with  him  that  day,  by  his 
request,  and  discovered,  in  the  course  of  our  conver- 
sation, that  he  did  not  admit  the  divine  obligation 
of  the  Sabbath  under  the  Christian  dispensation. 

On  Monday  morning  I  went  with  Mr.  Alexander, 
with  whose  delightful  family  I  was  domesticated,  to 
Mrs.  Opie's  to  breakfast.  She  had  invited  three  or 
four  other  friends,  among  whom  was  her  very  par- 
ticular friend,  Mr.  Gurney.  As  Mr.  Alexander  and 
myself  were  there  a  little  before  the  rest,  and  were 
speaking  of  the  delightful  Saturday  evening  we  had 
passed  at  Earlham,  Mrs.  Opie  brought  out  a  pen- 
cil sketch  of  Mr.  Gurney — a  most  perfect  likeness — 
which  she  had  taken  a  little  while  before,  and  gave 
it  to  me.  Almost  immediately  upon  her  doing  so, 
the  door  opened,  and  Mr.  Gurney  made  his  appear- 
ance. She  immediately  turned  to  him  with  great 
good  nature,  and  said,  "  Here,  Joseph,  see  what  I 
am  doing — I  have  given  thee  away  without  thy  con- 
sent." He  cast  a  shrewd  look  at  her  and  at  the 
sketch,  and  said,  with  a  characteristic  air  that  I 
can  never  forget,  "Amelia  multiplies  me  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth" — alluding  to  the  fact  that  she 
had  taken  several  similar  sketches  before.  When  we 
sat  down  to  the  table,  as  the  Quakers  were  in  the 
ascendant,  we  had  a  silent  grace,  of  course ;  but  I 


192  JOSEPH    JOHN    GUBNEY. 

must  confess  that  such  a  pause  for  each  individual 
to  lift  his  heart  to  Heaven,  was,  to  me,  exceedingly 
impressive.  After  breakfast,  Mr.  Gurney  proposed 
that  we  should  have  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  read 
before  we  separated  ;  and  he  himself  read  one  with 
great  pathos,  and  followed  it  with  a  most  appro- 
priate, touching,  and  richly  evangelical  prayer.  He 
then  made  a  direct  address  to  me,  alluding  particu- 
larly to  a  passage  which  he  had  just  read,  in  re- 
spect to  the  anointing  of  the  Spirit,  and  tendering 
me  his  most  affectionate  Christian  salutations.  After 
we  retired  from  the  breakfast-room,  he  made  an- 
other demonstration  of  kindness,  to  which  I  do  not 
feel  at  liberty  more  particularly  to  refer,  but  which 
showed  the  most  delicate  consideration,  as  well  as 
the  most  princely  munificence. 

Some  years  after  I  parted  with  this  noble-minded 
and  noble-hearted  Quaker,  with  the  expectation  of 
never  meeting  him  again,  I  had  the  pleasure  and 
the  honour  to  welcome  him  to  my  own  dwelling. 
Every  body  knows  that  his  visit  to  this  country  was 
one  of  great  interest,  and  that  he  performed  here 
important  labours  of  love.  Sometime  after  he  ar- 
rived, he  wrote  me  of  his  purpose  to  visit  me,  and 
expressed  a  wish  to  hold  a  public  religious  meeting 
in  the  neighbourhood.  With  the  full  concurrence 
of  the  Session,  I  heartily  offered  him  the  use  of  our 
own  church.  He  came  at  the  time  appointed,  bring- 
ing with  him  three  sturdy,  veteran  Quakers,  to  share 
silently,  if  not  actively,  the  exercises  of  the  even- 


JOSEPH    JOHN    GURNET.  193 

ing.  The  meeting  had  been  previously  notified,  and 
a  very  good  audience  was  assembled.  My  venerable 
friend  and  his  coadjutors  walked  into  the  pulpit  to- 
gether, and  sat  down  in  devout  silence.  It  was  a 
spectacle  not  to  be  forgotten — three  or  four  broad- 
brimmed  hats  sitting  majestically  on  the  heads 
of  their  several  owners,  where  no  head  not  un- 
covered had  ever  before  been  seen.  They  sat  for 
half  an  hour,  and  neither  tongue  nor  spirit  moved. 
I  became  uneasy  lest  the  meeting  should  turn  out 
a  failure,  at  least  to  those  who  came  to  hear ;  and 
I  supposed  the  wags  might  nickname  it  a  Quaker 
farce.  After  about  half  an  hour,  however,  utterance 
was  given,  and  a  more  simple  and  fervent  strain  of 
evangelical  eloquence  I  have  rarely  listened  to.  I 
should  be  glad  to  know  that  no  Presbyterian  church 
ever  echoed  to  less  fervent  exhortations,  or  to  a 
less  scriptural  theology. 

Mr.  G-urney's  visit  in  my  family  was,  in  every  re- 
spect, delightful.  I  had,  not  long  before,  been  sadly 
bereaved,  and  my  children  were  without  a  mother. 
For  me  and  for  them  he  manifested  the  tenclerest 
sympathy.  I  asked  him,  the  first  evening  that  he  was 
with  me,  whether  he  would  choose  to  be  present  at 
our  family  devotions,  and  if  so,  whether  he  would  feel 
willing  to  conduct  them.  He  said  he  certainly  should 
wish  to  be  present,  and  perhaps,  before  he  left  us, 
he  would  once  lead  in  the  exercise.  As  I  offered 
him  the  Bible  the  next  morning,  he  asked  me 
whether  all  my  children  were  there,  and  I  told  him 

9 


194  JOSEPH    JOHN    GURNET. 

that  all  were  except  one,  and  him  I  had  been  obliged 
to  send  away  upon  an  errand.  He  handed  me  back 
the  Bible,  and  said,  "I  do  not  feel  as  if  I  could 
proceed  unless  that  dear  boy  is  here — do  it  in  thine 
own  way  this  morning,  and  perhaps  I  will  take  it 
to-morrow  morning."  The  next  morning,  which  was 
the  last  he  spent  with  us,  he  sat  down  upon  the 
sofa,  and  gathered  the  children  around  him  in  a 
semi-circle,  and,  after  reading  an  appropriate  chap- 
ter, addressed  a  few  words  of  most  affectionate  coun- 
sel to  each,  with  particular  reference  to  the  bereave- 
ment which  they  had  sustained ;  then  knelt  down, 
and  offered  one  of  the  most  melting  prayers  to 
which  I  ever  listened.  He  took  leave  of  us  shortly 
after,  and,  though  he  frequently  wrote  to  me  after- 
wards, I  never  had  another  meeting  with  him. 


XXVIII 


AND 


rpHESE  were  the  two  persons  in  Cambridge  whom 
I  wished  most  to   see,  and   I   was  fortunate   in 
finding   them   both   there ;    for    Dr.  Lee,   spent   the 
greater  part  of  the   year  at   Bristol.      Shortly  after 
my  arrival  in  the  place,  I  made  my  way  to  King's 
College,    to    find    the    venerable    Mr.    SIMEON,    who 
had  long  been   known  to   me   through   his   "  /SMe- 
fofis,"  one  of  which,  at  least,  I  had  seen  exhibited 
from  an  American  pulpit,  with  little  more  of  flesh 
than    he    left    upon  it  when  it  passed    out  of   his 
hands.      I  had  had  the   advantage   of  a  little   cor- 
respondence with  him ;   but  he  did  not  know  that 
I  was  in  the  country  till  my  name  was  announced ; 
and  when  it  was  announced,  I  heard  him  say,  "It 
is  impossible ;    I   do    not  believe    it."      However,   I 
quickly  satisfied    him    of   my    identity,   and    he    as 
quickly  satisfied  me  of  his  kindness  and  hospitality. 


196  CHARLES    SIMEON. 

He  must  have  been  then  verging  towards  eighty. 
In  person  he  did  not  vary  much  from  the  medium 
size  ;  his  movements  were  quick  and  easy,  his  face 
bright  and  benevolent,  and  his  whole  manner  such 
as  to  make  me  feel  entirely  at  home.  Indeed,  his 
manners  were  so  perfect  that  he  seemed  to  have  no 
manners — you  felt  the  attraction  without  stopping 
to  think  what  it  was  that  attracted.  Everybody 
knows  that  he  stood  for  many  years  as  one  of  the 
chief  bulwarks  of  evangelical  religion  in  the  Estab- 
lished Church  ;  and  though,  at  one  time,  he  was  in 
such  bad  repute  that  scarcely  anybody  would  attend 
upon  his  ministrations,  and  many  treated  him  with 
open  contempt,  yet  he  lived  to  see  the  time  when 
the  announcement  that  he  was  to  preach,  even  on 
an  ordinary  occasion,  would  draw  a  crowd.  I  had 
sent  him,  not  long  before,  several  of  our  American 
books,  in  most  of  which  he  professed  to  be  deeply 
interested ;  but  there  was  one  (the  Murray  Street 
Lectures)  which  he  did  not  like,  and  he  wished  to 
tell  me  honestly  the  reason.  Said  he,  "A  number 
of  your  ministers  have  undertaken  in  that  work  to 
show  what  they  can  do ;  and,  though  they  have  cer- 
tainly displayed  ability,  I  do  not  think  that  such 
preaching,  continued  through  four  thousand  years, 
would  ever  convert  a  soul."  I  remarked  to  him  that 
I  supposed  each  individual  felt  himself  called  upon 
to  make  a  great  effort.  "  Yes,"  said  he,  very  pleas- 
antly, "it  would  seem  to  me  like  a  great  effort  to 
keep  out  the  Gospel."  He  spoke  with  much  en- 


CHARLES    SIMEON.  197 

thusiasm  of  Jonathan  Edwards  ;  but  he  seemed  to 
admire  him  rather  for  the  pungency  of  his  preach- 
ing than  the  depth  of  his  metaphysics.  Said  he, 
"His  preaching  reminds  me  of  a  man  holding  an- 
other's nose  to  the  grindstone,  and  turning  with  all 
his  might,  in  spite  of  all  objections  and  expostula- 
tions." Of  Dr.  Whewell,  the  author  of  one  of  the 
Bridgewater  treatises,  to  whom  I  had  a  letter,  he 
expressed  the  highest  opinion,  considering  his  work 
one  of  great  depth  and  power,  and  scarcely,  if  at 
all,  inferior  to  any  in  the  series.  There  was  a  great 
degree  of  frankness  about  him ;  and  I  confess  I 
thought  I  saw  also  a  little  of  the  vanity  incident  to 
old  age  ;  and,  as  he  is  beyond  the  reach  of  all  earthly 
voices,  whether  of  censure  or  of  praise,  I  may  per- 
haps be  pardoned  for  bringing  out  some  of  the  re- 
marks in  which  this  evidence  of  senility  discovered 
itself.  He  told  me  that  he  preached  not  only  every 
Sabbath,  but  every  Thursday,  and  constantly  pre- 
pared new  sermons.  He  handed  me  the  sermon  that 
he  had  preached  the  preceding  Sabbath,  and  when 
I  remarked  to  him  that  it  seemed  to  be  short,  "No, 
Sir,"  said  he;  "with  the  emphatic  pauses  that  I 
make,  that  will  occupy  me  fully  three-quarters  of 
an  hour."  He  said  that  he  had  repeatedly  been  re- 
quested to  prepare  another  set  of  sermons  to  preach 
to  the  University,  but,  up  to  a  recent  period,  had 
declined  on  account  of  his  age  ;  that  lately,  however, 
he  had  found  himself  in  possession  of  such  an  amount 
of  intellectual  energy,  that  he  had  actually  con- 


198  PROFESSOR     LEE. 

sented  to  do  so  ;  that  he  had  selected  a  subject  of 
great  depth,  which  had  very  rarely  been  treated — 
he  might  say,  never,  since  the  times  of  the  Puri- 
tans ;  that  he  had  mentioned  it  to  nobody,  and 
should  not  till  the  November  succeeding,  when 
the  sermons  would  be  preached  ;  that  he  had  writ- 
ten two  and  then  burnt  them,  because  they  did  not 
please  him,  and  then  a  third,  and  burnt  it  for  the 
same  reason  ;  but  that  he  had  finally  completed  the 
whole  number  (four)  in  a  way  which,  he  intimated, 
was  quite  satisfactory  to  himself.  I  remarked  that 
I  supposed  they  would  be  published,  of  course.  He 
said,  they  doubtless  would  be,  but  not  during  his  life- 
time, though  he  should  probably  have  many  requests 
to  publish  them.  He  thought  that  it  would  be  unfair 
towards  those  who  had  got  all  his  other  works,  and 
that  they  would  not  be  satisfied  that  there  should  be  a 
supplement  not  in  their  possession."  Before  I  parted 
with  him,  he  invited  me  to  dine  with  him  the  next 
day  in  the  College,  which  I  was  more  than  willing 
to  do,  as  well  for  the  sake  of  gratifying  my  curiosity, 
as  enjoying  his  company. 

Having  failed  to  see  Dr.  Whewell,  he  having  gone 
to  London,  I  walked  to  a  part  of  the  town  called 
Hill  Road,  distant  about  a  mile,  in  pursuit  of  Pro- 
fessor LEE,  the  great  Oriental  scholar,  to  whom  I 
had  an  introductory  letter.  I  succeeded  in  finding 
him,  and  he  turned  out  to  be  one  of  the  most  sim- 
ple, unassuming,  and  perfectly  accessible  great  men 
whom  T  over  met.  He  was  of  about  the  middle  size, 


PROFESSOR    LEE.  199 

was  full  of  life  and  good  humour,  and  resembled 
exactly  the  only  portrait  I  have  ever  seen  of  him. 
He  began  almost  immediately  to  inquire  about  Pro- 
fessor Stuart,  and  expressed  surprise  that  he  had  not 
heard  from  him  for  a  long  time.  He  had  sent  him 
a  parcel  about  seven  years  before,  of  which  he  had 
never  had  an  acknowledgment,  and  which  he  sus- 
pected had  never  reached  him  ;  and,  in  the  same 
connexion,  he  remarked,  that  he  had  sometimes  had 
parcels  of  books  addressed  to  him  from  the  Conti- 
nent, to  the  care  of  English  booksellers,  who  had 
actually  sold  them,  instead  of  forwarding  them  to 
him.  He  expressed  some  fears  lest  the  growing 
taste  for  German  literature  in  the  United  States 
should  prove  adverse  to  the  interests  of  evangelical 
religion  ;  for  he  thought  that  the  religious  literature 
of  Germany  was  so  identified  with  its  neology,  that 
it  would  be  difficult  to  admit  the  one  and  keep  out 
the  other.  He  referred  with  great  pleasure  to  a 
controversy  which  he  was  carrying  on  just  at  that 
time  with  Dr.  Pye  Smith  on  the  subject  of  Church 
establishments  ;  and,  as  a  proof  of  the  admirable 
good  temper  which  they  maintained  towards  each 
other,  he  read  to  me,  and  then  gave  me,  a  letter 
which  Dr.  Smith  had  just  written  him,  reminding 
him  of  his  promise  to  visit  him  at  Hackney,  when 
he  should  return  to  his  parish  at  Bristol.  He  told 
me  that  he  had  formerly  had  a  very  poor  support — 
only  forty  pounds  annually — for  discharging  the  duties 
of  both  Hebrew  and  Arabic  Professor  ;  but  that, 


200  CHARLES    SIMEON. 

through  the  considerate  generosity  of  Lord  Brougham, 
he  had  a  place  allotted  to  him  in  the  Cathedral  at 
Bristol,  and  also  a  living  in  that  neighbourhood,  five 
miles  from  Barleywood,  so  that  he  was  then  very 
comfortably  provided  for.  He  had  on  his  table  be- 
fore him  the  manuscript  of  a  new  commentary  on  the 
Book  of  Job,  which  he  was  then  about  to  publish ; 
and  he  read  me  large  extracts  from  it,  demonstrat- 
ing its  authority  and  antiquity,  by  showing  that  it 
is  quoted  in  some  form  or  other  in  all,  or  nearly  all, 
the  Books  of  the  Old  Testament.  I  could  see  that 
he  had  a  degree  of  enthusiasm  in  his  department, 
which,  with  his  fine  natural  gifts,  was  sufficient  to 
account  for  his  rare  and  almost  matchless  acquisi- 
tions. 

I  went  about  half-past  three,  according  to  my  en- 
gagement, to  dine  with  Mr.  Simeon.  When  I  got 
to  his  room,  I  found  him  and  Professor  Lee,  whom 
he  had  invited  to  meet  me,  waiting  for  me  in  their 
gowns,  ready  to  go  to  dinner.  We  immediately 
went  into  a  large  room  in  another  part  of  the  Col- 
lege, where  we  were  joined  by  one  or  two  of  the 
Fe/Llows  of  the  College,  who  dined  with  us  ;  and,  after 
a  few  minutes,  it  was  announced  that  dinner  was 
ready.  We  were  walking  in  some  degree  of  state 
into  the  dining  hall,  and  had  almost  reached  our 
table  (for  there  were  several  tables  set  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  room),  when  we  were  suddenly 
arrested  by  the  voice  of  a  person  behind  us,  who 
seemed  to  me  to  be  declaiming  ;  but  on  looking 


CHARLES    SIMEON.  201 

round,  I  found,  to  my  astonishment,  that  it  was  a  stu- 
dent asking  a  blessing  in  Latin.  The  dinner,  though 
a  very  good  one,  was  served  up  without  any  great 
ceremony,  or  without  the  consumption  of  very  much 
time  ;  and  when  we  had  dined,  Mr.  Simeon  gave 
thanks,  in  a  few  words,  in  English ;  after  which  he, 
Dr.  Lee,  and  myself  repaired  to  Mr.  Simeon's  apart- 
ments, where  we  found  a  luxurious  appendage  to 
the  dinner  in  various  kinds  of  fruits,  &c.  Mr.  Simeon 
took  us  into  his  bed-room,  to  show  us  the  likenesses 
of  several  of  his  friends  ;  and  he  remarked  that  "  that 
of  dear  Henry  Martyn,"  which  was  one  of  them,  was 
so  perfect,  that  it  was  long  before  he  could  look  at 
it  more  than  a  few  moments  at  a  time.  Dr.  Lee 
and  Mr.  Simeon  both  knew  Henry  Martyn  well,  and 
the  latter  evidently  loved  him  as  a  son.  He  gave 
me  one  of  his  letters — a  farewell  letter,  written  after 
he  had  actually  embarked  for  India.  He  seemed 
unable  to  command  language  to  express  his  admira- 
tion of  Henry  Martyn's  character. 

As  Dr.  Lee  was  obliged  to  leave  early,  to  meet 
an  engagement,  I  remained  alone  with  Mr.  Simeon 
for  some  time,  and  was  most  delightfully  impressed — 
as  I  was,  indeed,  from  the  first  moment  I  saw  him — 
with  his  lovely  and  loving  spirit.  He  told  me  that 
though  I  saw  him  in  comfortable  health,  he  was 
daily  expecting  death,  as  much  as  my  friends  at 
home  would  be  expecting  my  return  at  the  appointed 
time  ;  and  he  gave  me  to  understand  that  there 
was  nothing  in  the  passage  over  Jordan  that  he 

9* 


202  MR.    THODEY. 

* 

dreaded.  He  blessed  me  most  affectionately,  as  we 
parted,  and  I  shook  hands  with  him,  with  the  full 
conviction  that  it  was  the  last  time.  And  so  it 
proved. 

The  evening  of  the  same  day  I  passed  in  the 
family  of  Mr.  Thodey,  an  excellent  Congregational 
clergyman,  to  whom  I  had  brought  a  letter,  and 
who  was  forward  to  render  me  every  attention.  At 
his  house  I  met  a  Mr.  Kichard  Foster,  a  distin- 
guished philanthropist,  who  discoursed  largely,  but 
temperately  and  candidly,  upon  American  slavery. 
He  told  me  that  his  father  and  grandfather  were 
both  members  of  the  celebrated  Kobert  Eobinson's 
church  ;  that  his  attractiveness  as  a  preacher  was 
almost  unparalleled ;  but  that  his  orthodoxy  had 
been  regarded  as  equivocal  a  good  while  before  he 
openly  renounced  it.  At  the  close  of  the  evening, 
Mr.  Thodey  walked  with  me  from  his  house  to  my 
hotel ;  and  kept  surprising  me  as  we  came  through 
the  streets  with  historical  localities.  "  There,"  said 
he,  "is  the  house  where  Eobert  Eobinson  lived." 
"  And  there  lived  Kobert  Hall."  "  You  have  heard  of 
Jeremy  Taylor,  I  suppose,  in  America — there  lie  lived." 
And  finally,  "  Did  you  ever  hear  of  Hobson's  choice  ?" 
"  Why,  certainly,"  said  I.  "  And  do  you  know  the 
origin  of  it  ?"  I  was  obliged  to  say  I  did  not. 
"Well,"  said  he,  "here  it  is — this  is  Hobson  street. 
Just  in  that  corner,  there  lived  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Hobson,  who  kept  a  livery  stable  ;  and,  as  the 
students  were  accustomed  to  come  and  select  his 


MB.    THODEY.  203 

I 

best  horses,  he  made  a  rule,  that  whoever  came 
should  take  the  horse  that  stood  first  in  the  stable — 
it  should  be  that  or  none ;  hence  the  phrase,  '  Hob- 
son's  choice/  " 


XXIX, 


T  HAD  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Dr.  BUNTING, 
and  called  at  his  house  when  I  was  in  London, 
but,  unfortunately  for  me,  he  was  out  of  the  city. 
It  was  therefore  very  gratifying  to  me  to  learn,  on 
my  arrival  at  Oxford,  the  day  before  Good  Friday, 
that  he  was  engaged  to  preach  there  the  next  day ; 
and  I  resolved  at  once  to  hear  him,  if  it  were  pos- 
sible. I  accordingly  went  to  the  chapel  where  he 
was  to  preach,  at  the  appointed  hour,  with  Mr.  Col- 
lingwood,  printer  to  the  University,  an  excellent  an 
most  gentlemanly  man,  at  whose  house  I  had  pre 
viously  engaged  to  stay  during  my  visit  at  Oxford. 
As  we  entered  the  chapel,  I  found  a  very  plain, 


! 


DR.    BUNTING.  205 

broad-shouldered,  rather  coarse-looking  man,  read- 
ing the  Episcopal  service  ;  and  he  read  it  with  such 
an  air  of  indifference,  that  I  was  impatient  for  the 
end  of  it,  especially  as  I  thought  he  was  equally 
so.  I  took  for  granted  that  it  was  some  Methodist 
brother  of  low  degree,  whom  Dr.  Bunting  had 
brought  in  to  assist  him  in  the  service  ;  and,  as  I 
had  gone  to  hear  Dr.  Bunting,  it  was  a  disappoint- 
ment to  me  to  hear  anybody  else. 

The  Church  service  being  disposed  of  in  due  time, 
this  same  indifferent  reader  proceeded  to  administer 
baptism  to  several  children,  among  whom  was  a  child 
of  the  resident  minister,  and « he  introduced  the  ser- 
vice with  some  remarks,  that  led  me  to  doubt  whether 
it  was  not  the  veritable  Jabez  Bunting  to  whom  I 
was  listening.  He  began  by  saying  that  that  was 
not  the  time  or  the  place  to  go  into  a  particular  vin- 
dication of  infant  baptism  ;  that  he  must  be  allowed 
now  to  take  that  doctrine  for  granted ;  that  those 
who  differed  from  him,  differed  conscientiously,  and 
had  the  same  right  to  their  views  that  he  had  to 
his.  He  then  read  the  rubric  of  the  English  Church 
on  this  subject,  and  pronounced  it  excellent,  espe- 
cially as  requiring  that  the  ordinance  should  be  ad- 
ministered publicly,  and  called  the  opposite  mode 
"a  kind  of  smuggling."  He  proceeded  to  speak  of 
baptism  at  some  length,  first  as  an  ordinance  of 
instruction,  and,  secondly,  as  an  ordinance  of  cove- 
nant, and  concluded  by  apologizing  to  his  brother 
for  having  said  things  which  he  must  be  supposed 


206  DK.    BUNTING. 

so  well  to  know  and  so  fully  to  appreciate.  The 
address  was  of  considerable  length,  and,  before  it 
was  half  finished,  I  did  not  need  anybody  to  in- 
form me  that  I  was  listening  to  the  first  Methodist 
preacher  in  England. 

The  baptism  being  over,  Dr.  Bunting  ascended 
the  pulpit,  and  announced  as  his  text,  that  rich 
and  precious  passage,  "He  that  spared  not  his  own 
Son,"  &c.  The  discourse  was  simple  in  its  plan, 
full  of  strong  evangelical  thought,  very  felicitously 
and  logically  presented,  and  in  some  parts  was  even 
sublimely  pathetic  and  eloquent.  The  whole  service, 
so  far  as  I  witnessed  it,  was  conducted  with  perfect 
decorum ;  but,  after  Mr.  Collingwood  and  myself 
had  retired  into  the  vestry,  I  was  told  that  there 
was  a  prayer  offered,  during  which  there  were  two 
hundred  audible  Amens,  the  minister  of  the  place 
taking  the  lead.  The  service  being  concluded,  Dr. 
Bunting  came  into  the  vestry ;  and,  when  I  was  in- 
troduced to  him,  he  very  kindly  expressed  his  re- 
gret at  not  being  at  home  when  I  called  at  his 
house  in  London,  and  said  he  had  directed  his  son 
to  ascertain  at  Hackney  where  I  stayed,  that  he 
might  call  upon  me.  Though  I  frequently  heard 
him  spoken  of  as  being  somewhat  of  an  ecclesiasti- 
cal dictator,  I  found  him  exceedingly  pleasant  and 
free  in  conversation,  and  no  more  inclined  to  take 
airs  than  the  humblest  man  I  ever  met.  As  he 
knew  that  I  expected  to  be  at  Shrewsbury  in  the 
course  of  the  next  week,  and  as  he  expected  to  be 


DR.    MACBBIDE.  207 

there  also,  he  expressed  a  wish  that  we  might  meet ; 
and  accordingly  he  actually  did  me  the  favour  to 
call  upon  me  at  Shrewsbury,  on  Sunday  evening, 
after  having  performed  the  usual  services  of  the 
day.  If  I  had  been  called  to  pronounce  judgment 
upon  him  in  the  market-place,  without  hearing  him 
speak,  I  should  have  said  that  he  was  a  red-faced, 
well-fed,  coarse-grained  Englishman  ;  but  if  my  opin- 
ion concerning  him  had  been  asked  after  hearing 
him  preach,  and  seeing  him  in  private,  I  should 
have  said  that,  while  he  was  not  at  all  lacking  in 
courtesy  and  kindness,  he  was  one  of  the  most  vig- 
orous thinkers  and  eloquent  preachers  whom  I  ever 
met. 

Sometime  in  the  course  of  the  day,  I  called  at 
Dr.  Pusey's  door,  having  a  letter  of  introduction  to 
him  from  Professor  Tholuck  ;*  but  he  sent  me  word 
by  the  servant  that  he  could  not  consistently  see 
company,  on  account  of  its  being  Good  Friday,  but 
would  be  happy  to  see  me  the  next  day.  I  then 
called  upon  Dr.  MACBRIDE,  a  professor  in  one  of  the 
colleges,  and  the  author  of  a  learned  work  called 
the  "  Diatesseron ;"  to  whom  also  I  had  an  intro- 
ductory letter.  He  had  no  scruples  about  receiving 
me-;  and  I  found  him  an  exceedingly  agreeable, 
whole-souled,  and  intelligent  man.  When  he  ascer- 
tained that  my  visit  at  Oxford  was  limited  to  a  day 
or  two,  he  said  that  I  ought  to  be  making  the  best 
of  my  time,  and  immediately  put  on  his  gown,  and 


208  DK.    PUSEY. 

walked  with  me  to  show  me  the  most  curious  and 
venerahle  of  the  colleges.  I  found  that  he  had  no 
sympathy  with  the  extreme  party,  of  which  Dr. 
Pusey  was  then  coming  out  as  a  leader,  though  he 
thought  Dr.  Hampden  had  gone  too  far  in  his 
Bampton  Lectures,  which  had  appeared  a  short 
time  before,  and  were  the  subject  of  animadversion 
or  discussion  in  almost  every  circle.  Dr.  Macbride 
spoke,  as  Dr.  Gregory  had  done  before  him,  with 
great  respect  and  affection  of  Bishop  M'llvaine,  and 
said  that  he  knew  no  man  who  possessed  qualities 
to  grace  the  Episcopate  more  than  he. 

I  went  the  next  day,  notwithstanding  it  was  the 
Saturday  after  Good  Friday,  to  call  upon  DR.  PUSEY. 
He  seemed  to  me  to  be  not  much  more  than  forty 
years  old.  He  was  small  every  way — being  both  very 
short  and  very  lean  ;  was  exceedingly  grave  in  his 
manner,  and  much  disposed  to  serious  conversation. 
As  he  knew  I  had  just  come  from  Germany,  he  had 
many  inquiries  to  make  in  respect  to  the  result  of 
my  observations  on  the  religious  state  of  things  there, 
though  I  quickly  found  that  he  knew  much  more 
about  it  than  I  did.  If  I  had  been  obliged  to  make 
up  my  mind  concerning  him  merely  from  his  appear- 
ance in  that  interview,  which  lasted  not  more  than 
half  an  hour,  I  should  have  been  at  a  loss  whether 
he  was  some  great  revival  man,  like  Nettleton,  in 
one  of  his  most  devout  moods,  or  whether  he  was 
wearing  the  mantle  of  some  monk,  and  walking  in 


MBS.     COPLEY.  209 

the  light  of  the  dark  ages.  He  was,  however,  very 
civil,  and  invited  me  to  dine  with  him  ;  and  when 
I  told  him  I  must  leave  at  two  o'clock,  he  kindly 
proposed  to  anticipate  the  usual  dinner-hour  for  my 
accommodation.  This  was  several  years  before  he 
reached  the  point  of  his  greatest  notoriety ;  but  the 
leaven  was  then  at  work,  and  I  doubt  whether  any- 
thing has  occurred  since,  that  was  not  prophesied  of, 
at  that  time,  by  some  who  had  the  best  opportunity 
of  estimating  his  religious  tendencies. 

I  was  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  paying  my  re- 
spects to  Mrs.  COPLEY,  the  well-known  authoress. 
She  was  the  wife  of  a  Baptist  minister,  who  was  at 
that  time  settled  in  Oxford,  though,  I  think,  he 
has  since  had  a  charge  in  some  other  part  of  Eng- 
land. She  seemed  a  highly  respectable  lady — was 
modest  and  retiring,  and  yet  easy  and  communica- 
tive. She  had  written  several  very  popular  books 
for  youth  then,  and  has  since  added  several  to  the 
number.  I  heard  her  spoken  of  by  different  parties 
at  Oxford,  in  a  manner  that  showed  that  her  talents, 
intelligence,  and  virtues  were  held  in  high  estimation. 


XXX, 


MBS.  SHEKWOOD,  at  the  time  I  visited  her, 
resided  at  Worcester.  Her  husband  was  a  Cap- 
tain in  the  British  army,  and  was,  for  a  long  time, 
(I  think  thirteen  years,)  stationed  in  the  East  In- 
dies, where  she  wrote  many  of  her  most  popular 
works.  She  was  born  near  Worcester,  and,  about 
nineteen  years  before  I  saw  her,  had  returned  from 
India  and  opened  a  school  in  that  neighbourhood, 
which  she  continued  seventeen  years.  This  school 
was  patronized  by  distinguished  families  from  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  and,  it  was  said,  was  a  source 
of  great  pecuniary  profit.  Her  husband,  whom  I  saw, 
seemed  to  be  a  mild,  amiable  man  ;  but  I  could  not 
very  well  conceive  of  his  being  a  military  com- 
mander. 

Mrs.  Sherwood  herself  was,  in  person,  rather  above 
the  middle  size,  and  though  she  had  a  good,  strong 
face,  it  was  by  no  means  expressive  of  great  refine- 
ment. Nor  was  there  anything  in  her  manners  that 


MRS.    SHERWOOD.  211 

was  not  in  keeping  with  her  countenance.  She  was 
civil  enough,  but  she  had  a  sort  of  boldness  and 
forwardness  of  manner,  which  possibly  might  have 
filled  up  a  chasm  in  the  military  character  of  her 
husband.  She  seemed  then  to  be  not  much  over 
fifty  years  old,  and  was  apparently  in  fine  health 
and  spirits.  She  talked  with  me  a  good  deal — only, 
however,  because  I  led  the  conversation  in  that  di- 
rection— about  her  own  publications,  and  told  me 
that  her  "  Little  Henry"  had  then  passed  through 
twenty-seven  editions  in  Great  Britain,  and  that 
some  other  of  her  writings  had  had  an  equal  circula- 
tion. She  seemed  to  know  that  most  of  her  works 
had  been  re-published  in  this  country,  and  was 
gratified  that  they  had  been  received  with  so  much 
favour.  She  gave  me  a  copy  of  her  engraved  por- 
trait, and  remarked  that  it  might  be  re-printed  in 
America,  though  it  could  not  be  in  England,  on 
account  of  its  being  private  property. 

During  her  residence  in  India,  Mrs.  Sherwood  was 
well  acquainted  with  Henry  Martyn,  and  regarded 
him  as  one  of  the  choicest  and  most  gifted  spirits 
she  had  ever  known.  She  mentioned,  also,  another 
individual  whom  she  knew,  of  whom  I  remembered, 
in  my  early  years,  to  have  read  a  most  fearful  ac- 
count in  Dr.  Buchanan's  celebrated  sermon,  entitled 
"The  Star  in  the  East" — it  was  Sabat.  As  the 
name  of  this  individual  may  now  scarcely  be  known 
in  this  country,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  allude  to 
that  part  of  his  history  which  gave  him  his  chief 


212  MRS.     SHERWOOD. 

celebrity.  Abdallah  and  Sabat  belonged  to  two  dis- 
tinguished families  in  Arabia,  and  being  intimate 
friends,  set  out  to  travel  together  in  foreign  coun- 
tries. When  they  had  reached  the  city  of  Cabul, 
Abdallah,  being  appointed  to  an  important  office 
under  the  government,  remained  there,  while  Sabat 
continued  his  travels  in  Tartary.  The  former  very 
soon  fell  in  with  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament,  and, 
from  reading  it,  became  a  convert  to  Christianity. 
Knowing,  as  he  did,  that  his  conversion  could  not 
become  known  but  at  the  hazard  of  his  life,  he  with- 
drew privately  from  the  place  of  his  residence,  and 
set  out  to  travel,  in  the  hope  of  finding  some  retired 
place  where  he  might  enjoy  his  religion  in  safety. 
Having  reached  the  city  of  Bokhara,  in  Tartary,  he 
was  greatly  surprised,  as  he  was  walking  in  the 
streets,  at  meeting  his  former  fellow-traveller ;  but 
Sabat,  having  heard  of  his  apostasy  from  Moham- 
medism,  quickly  showed  him  that  he  had  nothing 
to  hope  from  his  friendship  or  his  mercy.  Abdallah 
fell  at  his  feet,  and  abjured  him  by  their  former  re- 
lations not  to  reveal  the  secret  of  his  conversion  ; 
but  neither  tears  nor  expostulations  had  any  ef- 
fect. He  immediately  gave  information  against  him 
to  the  authorities  of  the  city,  and  forthwith  he 
was  delivered  up  to  the  King,  and  si  decree  was 
issued  for  his  execution.  When  the  fatal  hour  ar- 
rived, Abdullah  was  led  forth,  in  the  presence  of 
an  immense  multitude,  to  seal  his  testimony  with 
his  blood.  The  executioner  began  his  work  by  cut- 


MKS.    SHERWOOD.  213 

ting  off  one  of  his  hands,  upon  which  he  was  offered 
his  life  on  condition  that  he  would  recant  ;  but,  with 
a  spirit  of  calm  dignity  and  true  Christian  heroism, 
he  refused  to  do  this,  and  meekly  bowed  his  head 
to  receive  the  fatal  blow.  Sabat  mingled  in  the 
crowd,  and  witnessed  the  fearful  transaction  to  which 
he  had  been  accessory.  He  afterwards  said  that  he 
saw  Abdallah  look  at  him,  while  the  process  of 
^execution  was  going  forward,  but  that  it  was  a  look, 
not  of  anger,  but  of  pity. 

Sabat  seems  to  have  been  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  Abdallah  would  certainly  save  his  life  by  re- 
nouncing his  faith  ;  but  when  he  saw  that  it  was 
otherwise — saw  that  he  had  really  been  instrumental 
of  the  death  of  his  friend,  he  was  greatly  tortured 
by  remorse,  and  that  last  forgiving  look  haunted 
him  wherever  he  went.  At  length  he  reached  India, 
and  while  employed  there  in  some  official  capacity, 
he,  too,  was  induced  to  read  the  New  Testament, 
and  compare  it  with  the  Koran  ;  the  result  of  which 
was,  that  he  professedly  renounced  Mohammedism, 
and  was  for  several  years  an  active  and  useful  coadju- 
tor with  the  British  missionaries  in  promoting  Chris- 
tianity. When  his  friends  in  Arabia  heard  of  his 
conversion,  they  immediately  despatched  his  brother 
to  India,  with  a  view  to  assassinate  him.  The  bro- 
ther entered  his  dwelling  in  the  disguise  of  a  beg- 
gar, and  was  actually  drawing  a  dagger  from  its 
concealment  upon  his  person,  to  plunge  it  into  his 
bosom,  when  Sabat  seized  his  arm,  and  his  servants 


214  MRS.    SHERWOOD. 

instantly  came  to  his  deliverance.  It  was  through 
Sabat's  intercession  that  the  life  of  this  murderous 
brother  was  spared ;  and  he  not  only  sent  him  away 
in  peace,  but  sent  by  him  valuable  presents  to  his 
mother's  family. 

Dr.  Buchanan's  sermon  brings  the  history  down 
only  to  this  point — when  Sabat  was  labouring  ef- 
ficiently with  him  for  the  cause  of  Christian  truth. 
But  shortly  after  this,  as  Dr.  Buchanan's  own 
daughter  informed  me,  he  suddenly  took  the  fancy 
that  his  great  talents  and  acquirements  were  not 
adequately  estimated,  and,  in  a  fit  of  resentment, 
renounced  Christianity,  returned  to  Mohammedism, 
and  went  to  Persia,  where  he  wrote  a  work  to  re- 
fute the  system  which,  for  several  years,  he  had 
been  labouring  to  defend.  After  this  he  professed, 
for  a  short  time,  to  have  again  received  the  Chris- 
tian faith  ;  but  at  a  still  later  period,  and,  so  far 
as  is  known,  to  the  close  of  his  life,  he  ranked  him- 
self with  the  followers  of  Mohammed.  About  1811, 
he  travelled  in  Pegu,  and  being  detected  in  some 
treasonable  attempts  against  the  reigning  prince, 
he  and  his  fellow-conspirator  were  put  into  a  sack, 
and  thrown  together  into  the  sea. 

I  was  interested  in  hearing  Mrs.  Sherwood  say 
that  she  had  even  seen  this  monster  of  a  man.  She 
seemed  to  have  known  him  pretty  well ;  but  I  think 
she  looked  upon  him  with  some  distrust,  even  when 
his  good  professions  were  the  strongest.  She  said 
he  had  a  fierce  expression  of  countenance,  and  his 


MRS.    SHERWOOD.  215 

form  seemed  never  to  bend  in  the  slightest  degree ; 
in  short,  she  said  he  always  reminded  her  of  a 
Saracen  painted  on  a  sign-post ! 

Mrs.  Sherwood,  as  I  learned  from  some  of  her 
neighbours,  was,  at  that  time,  an  extremely  high- 
church  Episcopalian,  and  her  intercourse,  as  I  un- 
derstood, was  restricted  within  very  narrow  limits. 
She  had  also,  not  long  before,  become  a  convert,  as 
was  supposed,  to  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation. 
Indeed,  she  made  a  remark  to  me  having  a  bearing 
on  the  subject,  which,  though  not  very  explicit,  I 
understood  as  an  indirect  avowal  of  her  faith  in 
that  doctrine.  My  impression  is,  that  she  subse- 
quently declared  her  belief  of  it  without  reserve  or 
qualification.  I  met  with  one  or  two  of  her  pupils 
in  Edinburgh,  who  seemed  to  regard  her  as  a  model 
teacher,  and  to  remember  her  with  the  utmost  grati- 
tude and  affection.  I  never  saw  her  except  on  that 
one  evening. 


XXXI. 


A  S  one  important  object  I  had  in  going  to  Ireland 
-^  was  to  visit  Miss  EDGEWORTH,  with  whom  I  had 
previously  had  some  correspondence,  I  wrote  to  her 
shortly  before  leaving  England,  to  inquire  whether 
she  would  be  at  home  at  the  time  I  proposed  to 
visit  her ;  and,  on  my  arrival  at  Dublin,  I  was  met 
by  a  letter  from  her,  informing  me  that  she  should 
be  at  home,  and  extending  to  me  a  cordial  invita- 
tion to  come  and  remain  at  Edgeworth's  town  as 
long  as  I  could.  Accordingly,  having  notified  her 
of  the  day  when  I  intended  to  go,  I  started  off 
early  in  the  morning  from  Dublin,  and  found  my- 
self at  the  end  of  my  journey — sixty  Irish  miles — 
at  two  o'clock.  As  the  coach  passed  Miss  Edge- 
worth's  gate,  a  servant  came  out  to  take  my  lug- 
gage ;  but,  as  the  hotel  was  within  a  few  rods,  I 
preferred  to  keep  my  seat  until  we  reached  it,  and 
the  servant  followed  me  to  accompany  me  back  to 
the  house.  The  village  is  as  miserable-looking  a 


MARIA    EDGEWORTH.  217 

place  as  one  often  sees,  and  as  it  was  market-day, 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  degradation 
of  the  whole  surrounding  population  to  the  great- 
est advantage  ;  but  the  Edgeworth  house  was  a  fine, 
spacious  old  mansion,  with  a  splendid  lawn  stretch- 
ing before  it,  and  everything  to  indicate  opulence 
and  hereditary  distinction.  I  do  not  remember  to 
have  seen  what  I  thought  a  more  beautiful  place 
in  all  Ireland. 

As  I  entered  the  house,  Miss  Edgeworth  was  the 
first  person  to  meet  me  ;  and  she  immediately  in- 
troduced me  to  her  mother,  Mrs.  Edgeworth,  her 
father's  fourth  wife,  and  her  sister,  Miss  Honora 
Edgeworth,  who  has  since  been  married  and  resides 
in  London.  Miss  Edgeworth,  in  her  personal  ap- 
pearance, was  anything  but  what  I  expected.  She 
was  below  the  middle  size  ;  her  face  was  exceedingly 
plain,  though  strongly  indicative  of  intellect  ;  and 
though  she  seemed  to  possess  great  vigour  of  body 
as  well  as  of  mind,  it  was,  after  all,  the  vigour  of 
old  age.  I  supposed  her  to  be  about  sixty-five,  but 
I  believe  she  was  actually  on  the  wrong  side  of 
seventy.  Her  step-mother,  Mrs.  Edgeworth,  who, 
for  aught  I  know,  is  still  living,  must  have  been,  I 
think,  rather  younger  than  Maria,  and  was  not  only 
a  lady  of  high  intelligence,  but  of  great  personal 
attractions,  and  withal,  as  I  afterwards  ascertained, 
of  a  very  serious  turn  of  mind.  As  Miss  Edgeworth 
knew  that  my  visit  was  to  be  limited  to  a  single 
day,  she  told  me  almost  immediately  that  she  wished 

10 


218  MARIA    EDGEWORTH. 

to  know  in  what  way  she  could  contribute  most  to 
my  gratification  ;  whether  by  remaining  in  the  house, 
or  walking  over  the  grounds  ;  kindly  suggesting  at 
the  same  time  that  I  had  better  first  take  a  little 
lunch,  and  then  a  little  rest.  She  talked  upon  a 
great  variety  of  subjects,  and  I  set  her  down  as  de- 
cidedly one  of  the  best  talkers  I  ever  met  with. 
There  was  nothing  about  her  that  had  even  any 
affinity  to  showing  off  or  trying  to  talk  well,  but 
she  evidently  did  not  know  how  to  talk  otherwise. 
She  seemed  to  have  the  most  mature  thoughts  on 
every  subject,  and,  without  the  semblance  of  effort, 
'they  took  on  the  most  attractive  dress.  I  was  not 
unwilling  to  hear  what  she  had  to  say  about  slav- 
ery. She  reprobated  the  course  of  the  ultra  anti- 
slavery  men  as  eminently  adapted  to  defeat  its  own 
end ;  and  remarked  that  to  give  the  slaves  liberty 
before  they  were  qualified  to  use  it,  would  be  only 
giving  them  liberty  to  starve,  and  perhaps  to  cut 
each  other's  throats,  and  the  throats  of  their  mas- 
ters. I  happened  to  relate  an  anecdote  which  I  had 
heard,  of  a  young  man  -in  Edinburgh  having  read 
as  an  exercise  before  the  Presbytery  a  sermon,  the 
substance  of  which  he  had  heard  a  celebrated  clergy- 

<r 

man  preach  ;  and  it  turned  out  afterwards  that  the 
clergyman  himself  had  stolen  it  from  some  book. 
"Dear  me,"  said  Miss  Edgeworth,  "that  was  like 
taking  the  impression  of  a  forged  guinea."  She  said 
that  she  had  been  indebted  for  a  number  of  years 
to  Mr.  Ralston,  of  Philadelphia,  for  two  of  our  Re- 


MARIA    EDGEWOETH.  219 

views,  one  of  winch  was  the  North  American  ;  and 
that  she  thought  that  that  particularly  was  better 
as  a  Eeview  than  either  the  London  Quarterly  or 
the  Edinburgh.  She  spoke  of  a  notice  of  the  life 
of  her  father  in  the  North  American,  written  by  an 
Unitarian  clergyman  of  Massachusetts,  as  contain- 
ing one  thing  (she  did  not  mention  what  it  was) 
that  had  given  her  great  pain ;  that  she  had  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  a  distinguished  individual  in 
Boston  on  the  subject,  and  that  the  author  of  the 
article  had  written  her  a  very  kind  letter,  assuring 
her  that  the  mistake  should  be  corrected.  She 
stated  also  that  there  had  been  a  snarling  review 
of  the  same  work  in  Great  Britain,  in  which  her 
father's  veracity  was  called  in  question,  in  respect 
to  a  statement  he  had  made  concerning  Lady  Edge- 
worth.  He  had  said  that  her  servant  had  come 
down  from  the  garret,  and,  on  being  asked  what 
she  had  done  with  a  candle  which  she  had  taken 
up  without  a  candlestick,  replied  that  she  had  stuck 
it  into  a  barrel  of  black  sand,  which  Lady  Edgeworth 
knew  to  be  gunpowder ;  that  she  went  up,  and  with 
her  own  hand  took  the  candle  away  ;  and,  on  coming 
down  stairs,  fell  upon  her  knees,  and  gave  God 
thanks  for  the  wonderful  deliverance.  This  the 
reviewer  had  pronounced  incredible  ;  but  Miss  Edge- 
worth  assured  me  that  her  father  had  only  quoted 
from  a  manuscript  of  Ms  father,  which  she  would 
show  me  before  I  left ;  and  that  the  attack  upon 
her  father  was  a  mere  matter  of  revenge.  She  said 


220  MARIA    EDGEWORTH. 

that  she  felt  it  keenly  as  a  daughter,  but  perhaps 
it  was  not  very  creditable  to  her  head  that  she 
should  care  for  it  at  all.  She  spoke  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott  with  boundless  respect,  and  represented  him 
as  being  simple  as  a  child ;  and  immediately  added, 
that  she  regarded  him,  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  and 
Dr.  Channing,  as  the  three  finest  writers  the  age 
had  produced.  She  spoke  respectfully  of  many 
Americans  who  had  visited  her  ;  but  she  thought 
the  most  thoroughly  accomplished  gentleman  whom 
she  had  seen  from  the  United  States,  was  Professor 
Ticknor.  She  regretted  that  she  had  never  heard 
Kobert  Hall  preach ;  but  she  thought  his  published 
sermons  were  incomparably  eloquent,  and  his  char- 
acter, as  it  came  out  in  his  life,  was  one  of  the 
highest  interest.  She  talked  a  good  deal  about 
Madame  de  Stael ;  and  though  she  had  never  seen 
her,  she  had  seen  and  admired  her  two  children — 
the  Baron  de  Stael  and  the  Duchess  de  Broglie. 
She  said  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  she  was 
chargeable  with  some  very  gross  errors  in  her  life, 
but  some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  customs 
of  the  country ;  that  it  was  greatly  in  her  favour 
that  she  condemned  her  own  course,  and  inculcated 
rigid  virtue  upon  her  children  and  others ;  and  that 
some  of  the  French  women  seemed  to  her  to  think 
that  Madame  de  Stael's  principal  sin  consisted  i 
her  repentance.  She  expressed  great  veneration  fo 
the  character  of  Mrs.  Hannah  More,  though  sh 
thought  that,  in  her  old  age,  she  was  a  little  too 


MARIA    EDGEWORTH.  221 

puritanical,  in  thinking  it  a  loss  of  time  to  read  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  works. 

Miss  Edgeworth  expressed  deep  concern  in  re- 
spect to  the  influence  of  Komanism  upon  the  char- 
acter and  destiny  of  Ireland.  She  had  no  doubt 
then  that  the  secret  intention  had  been  to  persecute 
and  drive  out  the  Protestants,  though  it  was  not  till 
a  short  time  before  that  she  had  become  convinced  of 
it.  She  alluded  with  regret  to  the  attacks  that  had 
been  made  upon  our  country  by  British  travellers  ; 
but  she  thought  they  were  generally  so  palpably 
unjust  as  to  carry  their  own  antidote  along  with 
them.  She  said  that  Mrs.  Trollope,  with  all  her 
bad  behaviour,  was  certainly  very  clever ;  that  some 
of  her  descriptions  showed  a  high  order  of  talent ; 
and  as  for  Captain  Hall,  he  was  at  once  an  ill- 
tempered  and  good-natured  creature ;  that  he  had 
his  object  to  answer  in  making  his  book,  and  he  had 
accomplished  it  as  well  as  he  could.  She  gave  me 
a  fine  portrait  of  her  father,  and  told  me  that  I 
must  value  it  the  more,  as  it  was  the  very  last  that 
she  had,  with  the  exception  of  one  that  she  kept  for 
herself.  I  was  suffering  not  a  little  at  that  time 
from  the  weakness  of  my  eyes.  She  told  me  that 
she  had  suffered  greatly  for  two  years  from  the  same 
cause  ;  that  the  only  advice  the  most  distinguished 
oculists  gave  her  was,  that  she  should  give  her  eyes 
perfect  rest ;  and  by  following  that  prescription,  so 
far  as  never  to  read  or  write  when  it  gave  her  pain, 
she  at  length  regained  her  former  strength  of  sight. 


222  MARIA    EDGEWORTH. 

She  mentioned  that  a  certain  well-known  Jew  in 
this  country,  since  deceased,  had  written  to  her,  ap- 
parently with  a  view  to  draw  from  her  some  ex- 
pression of  approbation  in  respect  to  his  professed 
zeal  in  behalf  of  his  nation ;  but  she  said  that  the 
letter  impressed  her  very  unfavourably ;  that  she 
did  not  believe  that  he  was  a  Jew  at  heart,  or  any- 
thing else  in  particular,  except  a  rogue.  She  opened 
her  closet,  and  asked  me  to  notice  the  American 
part  of  her  library ;  and  I  observed  it  consisted  almost 
entirely  of  books  which  had  been  presented  by  her 
Unitarian  friends  at  Boston.  Some  of  her  own  works 
happened  to  be  there  also,  and  she  was  led  to  speak 
of  her  experience  with  some  of  her  publishers.  She 
mentioned  that  one  of  them  had  repeatedly  requested 
her  to  abate  from  the  amount  which  he  had  engaged 
to  pay  her,  and  that  she  had  done  so  ;  but  at  length, 
after  she  had  told  him  explicitly  to  make  proposals 
he  would  abide  by,  he  wrote  her  a  letter,  saying 
that  he  wished  another  abatement,  and  that  he  found 
that,  on  the  whole-,  he  had  lost  by  her  works  ;  and 
she  then  wrote  him  in  reply  that,  in  consequence  of 
the  loss  he  had  sustained,  she  would  transfer  her 
publications  to  other  hands.  He  afterwards  earnestly 
requested  that  she  would  excuse  him  for  having 
thus  written,  and  desired  to  retain  the  works ;  but 
she  was  inflexible,  and  he  very  angry.  Her  former 
publisher,  she  said,  when  he  found  himself  dying, 
called  for  a  letter  to  her  which  was  then  unfinished, 
and  requont'vl  that  there  should  be  inserted  a  promis 


MARIA    EDGEWORTH.  223 

of  £1000  or  £1200  more  than  lie  had  engaged  to 
give  her  for  one  of  her  works  ;  for  it  had  been  so 
much  more  profitable  to  him  than  he  had  expected, 
that  he  could  not  die  in  peace  till  he  had  done  justly 
by  her ;  and  his  heirs  executed  his  will  in  accordance 
with  this  dying  suggestion. 

While  Miss  Edgeworth  was  occupied  in  something 
designed  to  contribute  to  my  gratification,  Mrs.  Edge- 
worth  stepped  with  me  into  the  library ;  and  my  eye 
accidentally  rested  upon  the  Life  of  Major  Andre. 
As  I  opened  the  volume,  I  asked  her  if  she  knew 
what  ever  became  of  the  young  lady  to  whom  Major 
Andre  was  engaged  to  be  married.  "Why,"  said 
she,  "  I  perceive  you  do  not  know  the  history  of  this 
family  very  thoroughly.  That  young  lady,  Miss  Ho- 
nora  Snead,  was  my  husband's  (Mr.  Edgeworth's)  first 
wife ;"  and  she  then  brought  me  her  miniature, 
which  represented  her  as  extremely  beautiful ;  and, 
indeed,  Mrs.  Edgeworth  said  that  she  was  reputed 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  in  the  kingdom. 

As  we  were  speaking  of  the  character  of  Miss  Edge- 
worth's  writings,  she  expressed  her  regret  that  there 
was  little  or  nothing  of  the  religious  element  in 
them  ;  but  she  said  that  Maria  was  opposed  on  prin- 
ciple to  introducing  religion  into  works  of  fiction ; 
that  she  thought  it  lowered  the  dignity  of  the  sub- 
ject to  bring  it  into  such  an  association ;  but  that 
she  (Mrs.  Edgeworth)  thought  she  might  have  in- 
troduced a  chapter  of  a  religious  cast  in  one  of  her 
early  works  on  education,  in  consistency  with  her 


224  MARIA    EDGEWORTH. 

avowed  principle.  She  walked  with  me  for  half  an 
hour  about  the  grounds,  and  took  me  to  the  little 
old  church  in  the  neighbourhood,  which  they  were 
accustomed  to  attend,  the  spire  of  which  was  lifted 
by  means  of  some  invention  of  her  deceased  husband, 
of  which  there  is  a  printed  account.  She  went  with 
me  to  the  family  vault  of  the  Edgeworths,  built  by 
Maria's  grandfather,  where  she  said  many  of  the 
family  were  already  laid.  We  walked  also  to  the 
house  of  the  old  rector  of  the  church,  who,  I  un- 
derstood, was  a  worthy  man,  but  I  judged  not  a 
very  stirring  preacher.  We  called  at  two  or  three 
of  the  neighbouring  cottages,  which  looked  forlorn 
enough,  but  still  much  better  than  what  1  had  seen 
the  day  before.  I  said  to  one  of  the  women,  who 
seemed  to  have  things  around  her  a  little  more  com- 
fortable than  her  neighbours,  "You  seem,  madam, 
to  be  quite  well  off  here."  "Yes,  may  it  please 
your  honour,"  replied  she  ;  "  and  long  life  to  the 
family  that  have  made  us  so."  When  we  returned 
from  the  walk,  Miss  Edge  worth  had  got  several  let- 
ters of  introduction  in  readiness  for  me,  and  I  had 
only  time  to  take  them  before  the  coach  was  at  th 
door.  I  had  many  testimonies  of  Maria  Edgeworth's 
kindness  afterwards,  as  I  corresponded  with  her  as 
long  as  she  lived. 


XXXII. 

_,    ss 


AND 


rjlHROUGrH  the  kindness  of  Dr.  SINGER,  a  distin- 
guished clergyman,  and  Fellow  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Dublin,  I  was  invited  to  a  public  breakfast — 
an  annual  occasion,  I  believe — at  which  were  to  be 
present  a  very  large  number  of  the  Irish  Episcopal 
clergy.  I  accepted  the  invitation,  and  I  believe  I 
was  the  only  person  present  who  was  not  an  Epis- 
copalian-—indeed,  I  was  assured  that  I  might  reckon 
my  being  invited  as,  if  not  absolutely  anomalous,  at 
least  a  mark  of  unwonted  civility. 

The  number  of  ministers  present  at  the  breakfast 
was  about  three  hundred ;  and  the  greater  part  of 
them,  I  understood,  were  truly  evangelical  and  de- 
vout men.  The  breakfast  proper  was  quickly  de- 
spatched, and  then  came  the  intellectual,  theological, 
and  ecclesiastical  repast,  which  was,  of  course,  the 
great  attraction  of  the  morning.  It  had  been  be- 

10* 


226  EDWARD    BICKEBSTETH. 

fore  announced  that  Mr.  BICKERSTETH  was  to  be 
present,  and  make  an  address  ;  and  I  was  happy  to 
find  that  he  was  actually  on  the  spot. 

The  service,  after  breakfast,  was  introduced  by  an 
appropriate  and  apparently  an  extemporaneous  prayer 
from  an  elderly  clergyman,  during  which  there  were 
frequent  responses  of  Amen,  somewhat  after  the 
manner  of  a  Methodist  meeting,  though  without  any 
tendency  to  irregularity.  When  the  prayer  was 
closed,  Mr.  Bickersteth,  who  seemed  to  be  a  man 
of  about  forty-five,  and  looking  somewhat  like  my 
friend  Dr.  Lowell,  of  Boston,  arose  and  commenced  his 
address  ;  though,  finding  that  the  chandelier  prevented 
his  being  seen  by  a  portion  of  the  audience,  he  soon 
took  his  seat,  and  proceeded  to  speak  in  a  sitting  pos- 
ture. He  began  by  referring  to  the  "breaking  up 
of  the  times,"  and  testifying  of  the  deep  sympathy 
which  the  English  clergy  felt  with  their  Irish  breth- 
ren in  their  then  afflicted  state.  He  spoke  of  the 
great  privilege  of  suffering  for  Christ,  and  of  the 
honour  of  being  ambassadors  for  Christ,  and  quoted 
a  remark  of  Bradford  the  martyr,  when  in  prison — 
"  How  thankful  ought  we  to  be,  that  though  we  are 
sinners,  yet  these  sufferings  are  not  so  much  for  our 
sins  as  for  the  glory  of  our  Master."  He  expressed 
his  doubts  whether  ministers  dwell  enough  now  on 
the  extent  of  God's  love.  He  expatiated  on  the 
importance  of  adhering  to  the  doctrines  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  Established  Church,  and  the  danger 
of  encountering  Papists  on  general  ground,  rather 


EDWARD    BICKERSTETH.  227 

than  on  Church  of  England  ground ;  while  yet  he  ac- 
knowledged there  was  danger  also  from  the  opposite 
extreme.  He  remarked  that  Satan  prevails  more  by 
our  divisions  than  by  our  outward  sufferings ;  and 
that  the  cause  of  all  division  is  seeking  to  exalt 
ourselves — the  cause  of  all  true  spiritual  union  is 
seeking  to  exalt  Christ.  The  redeemed  cry  with  one 
voice,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb,"  &c.  He  went  on  sub- 
stantially as  follows  :  "It  is  of  great  importance,  not 
only  to  adhere  very  closely  to  the  Word  of  God,  but 
to  attach  a  due  relative  value  to  the  different  parts 
of  Scripture.  There  are  three  evils  which  the  Church 
now  has  to  contend  with — Popery,  Infidelity,  and 
Democracy.  Popery  ought  to  be  thoroughly  under- 
stood, especially  by  ministers ;  for  they  must  ne- 
cessarily have  much  to  do  with  it.  There  is  a 
leaven  of  it  in  our  own  Church — witness  certain 
tracts,  called  i  Tracts  for  the  Times/  published  at 
Oxford.  As  to  Infidelity,  there  are  said  to  be  thirty 
congregations  of  Infidels/'  [I  am  not  sure  whether  he 
said  in  London  or  in  England,]  "  who  meet  every  Sab- 
bath to  hear  infidel  lectures — the  spirit  of  neologian- 
ism  is  at  the  bottom  of  it — witness  what  has  lately 
come  out  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Hampden.  And  then, 
there  is  Democracy,  exalting  the  power  of  the  people, 
and  throwing  off  all  restraint.  Dissent  has  a  ten- 
dency to  foster  this,  and  hence  many  of  our  dissent- 
ing brethren  have  become  politicians,  and  lost  their 
spirituality.  The  Church  of  England  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  grand  bulwark  against  all  these  evils. 


228  EDWAKD    BICKERSTETH. 

It  is  important,  in  contending  against  one  of  them, 
not  to  lose  sight  of  either  of  the  others,  but  meet 
them  all  together. 

"  There  are  two  or  three  points  in  respect  to  the 
studies  of  ministers,  worthy  to  be  particularly  con- 
sidered. 1.  The  study  of  the  Scriptures  is  of  the 
greatest  importance.  One-sided  views  of  truth  ought 
especially  to  be  avoided.  The  eighteenth  chapter 
of  Ezekiel,  and  the  tenth  chapter  of  John,  contain 
what  at  first  seem  different  views  of  the  doctrine  of 
perseverance.  Christ  giving  himself  a  sacrifice,  in 
some  sense,  for  all  men,  seems  at  first  to  savour  of 
Arminianism ;  but  then  we  find  the  epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  qualifying  this  by  teaching  the  doctrine 
of  God's  electing  love.  Luther,  at  first,  cast  aside 
practical  James  as  uncanonical ;  but  when  he  came 
to  encounter  the  error  of  the  Ana-Baptists,  he  ac- 
knowledged the  authority  of  practical  James  again. 
2.  Meditate  much  on  the  epistles  to  Timothy  and 
Titus.  The  first  epistle  to  Timothy  is  against 
Popery ;  the  second  against  lawlessness.  '  The  epistl 
to  Titus  gives  us  a  view  of  the  grace  and  practic 
influence  of  the  Gospel  combined.  Attend  also  pa 
ticularly  to  the  book  of  Deuteronomy.  3.  In  gen- 
eral, study  the  old  Testament  much — it  is  too  much 
neglected  even  by  ministers.  The  Law  is  of  gre 
importance,  not  only  as  a  schoolmaster  to  bring 
to  Christ,  but  on  account  of  the  happiness  attenda 
on  obedience — 'If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  a 
ye  if  ye  do  them/  We  are  greatly  in  fault  that  we 


al 
- 


DR.    SINGE  B.  229 

do  not  study  the  Prophecies  more ;  not  to  gratify 
our  curiosity,  or  to  display  our  skill,  but  to  take 
advantage  of  a  light  which  God  has  given  to  direct 
us.  Beware  of  Irvingism  and  kindred  errors.  Study 
Meade  and  Newton.  The  doctrine  that  Popery  is 
antichrist  is  fundamental  in  our  opposition  to  the 
system ;  but  there  will  be  a  personal  antichrist  here- 
after." [Here  he  read  an  extract  of  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Chalmers,  addressed  to  himself,  which  seemed  to 
favour  the  doctrine  of  a  personal  advent  of  Christ, 
previous  to  the  millenium,  and  expressed  the  opinion 
that  there  is  no  hope  that  the  world  will  be  regen- 
erated by  missionary  efforts  alone.]  "The  study  of 
sound  divines,  in  connexion  with  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  is  of  the  greatest  importance  ;  such  as 
the  British  Keformers,  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs,  Jewell's 
Apology  and  Defence,  Usher's  Answer  to  a  Jesuit, 
and  his  Twenty  Sermons  ;  the  works  of  Hooker, 
Bishop  Keynolds,  Bishop  Hall,  &c."  He  concluded 
his  address,  by  assuring  his  audience  again  of  the 
sympathy  of  the  English  clergy  in  their  trials,  and 
declaring,  with  great  emphasis,  that  they  were  de- 
termined to  stand  or  fall  with  them. 

The  above  is  an  outline  of  Mr.  Bickersteth's  ad- 
dress, which  lasted  somewhat  more  than  an  hour.  It 
was  uttered  with  great  seriousness,  but  without  the 
least  animation,  and  was  evidently  thoroughly  pre- 
meditated, though  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  that 
it  had  been  written.  Dr.  SINGER  followed  it  with  an 
admirable  prayer,  in  which  he  remembered  very  kindly 


230  DR.     SINGER. 

the  dissenting  brethren,  after  which  the  meeting  was 
concluded  by  the  singing  of  the  doxology. 

There  was  another  meeting  immediately  succeed- 
ing this  ;  or  rather  this  was  protracted,  for  the  sake 
of  considering  some  matters  of  interest  to  the  clergy. 
Dr.  Singer  stated  that,  in  order  to  give  the  meet- 
ing form,  he  would  nominate  Dean  (I  did 

not  understand  his  name)  to  the  chair ;  and  then 
went  on  to  say  that  the  subject  to  come  before 
them  was  Church  Keform  ;  that,  by  the  advice  of 
some  of  his  brethren,  he  had  drawn  up  two  petitions 
to  the  King,  praying  for  relief  on  two  points — 
namely,  that  the  Church  might  be  allowed  to  ap- 
point her  own  Bishops,  and  also  to  regulate  her  in- 
ternal concerns  ;  both  of  which  he  considered  essen- 
tial to  her  prosperity.  He  spoke  with  great  warmth 
against  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  said  there 
must  be  reform,  or  the  Church  could  not  long  con- 
tinue. He  was  followed  by  several  speakers,  who 
fully  concurred  in  his  views ;  especially  by  a  Mr. 
Atley,  who,  in  allusion  to  O'Connell,  said,  "Who 
is  it  that  controls  the  House  of  Commons  now  ?  An 
enemy  of  the  Church.  Brethren,  a  comet  has  ap- 
peared in  our  religious  horizon  ;  and  as  comets  were 
formerly  considered  ominous  of  disaster,  so  is  this  ; 
and  in  another  respect  it  resembles  a  natural 
comet — it  has  a  tail."  This  brought  out  a  roar  of 
laughter,  which,  however,  did  not  seem  particularly  to 
embarrass  the  speaker.  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  reduce  the  petitions  to  form  :  and  the  only  ob- 


EDWARD    BICKERSTETH.  231 

jection  made  to  them,  as  they  were  read,  was  by 
one  individual,  who  said  he  could  not  consent  to  a 
clause  which  recognized  the  King  as  friendly  to  the 
Irish  Church ;  hut  it  was  contended  that  this  was 
a  mere  matter  of  form,  and  it  was  not  further  ob- 
jected to.  There  was  also  a  petition  read  and  or- 
dered to  be  printed,  respecting  the  observance  of 
the  Sabbath  ;  Rafter  which  the  meeting  broke  up,  and 
all  separated  with  apparently  the  most  fraternal 
feelings.  It  was,  on  the  whole,  an  occasion  of  great 
interest  to  me. 

After  the  meeting  was  over  I  was  introduced  to 
Mr.  Bickersteth,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  spending 
a  little  time  with  him.  He  was  remarkably  unas- 
suming and  gentle  in  his  manners,  apparently  with- 
out much  natural  fervour,  but  deeply  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  There  was  that  in  his 
whole  appearance  that  bespoke  an  eminently  devout 
and  godly  man.  He  manifested  great  interest  in 
American  revivals,  and  seemed  to  have  bestowed 
upon  them  much  serious  thought,  and  to  regret 
deeply  that  so  many  of  them  had  of  late  assumed 
a  spurious  character.  The  Kornish  controversy  was 
evidently  uppermost  in  his  thoughts  ;  and  I  believe 
his  principal  object  in  visiting  Ireland  was  to 
strengthen  his  brethren  in  their  defence  against 
this  formidable  foe. 


XXXIII. 


T  HAD  stopped  at  G-reenock  for  a  day,  to  visit  a 
family  of  my  acquaintance,  when  I  unexpectedly 
learned  that  that  was  the  residence  of  JOHN  GALT, 
the  celebrated  novelist.  As  it  was  part  of  my  plan 
to  see  all  sorts  of  celebrities,  I  made  up  my  mind 
at  once  that  I  would  obtain  an  introduction  to 
him;  and  I  was  sure  of  finding  him  at  home,  as  he 
was  a  cripple,  and  was  unable  to  leave  his  house, 
unless  assisted  by  others. 

I  found  it  very  easy  to  get  the  desired  introduc- 
tion, as  the  gentleman  at  whose  house  I  stopped 
knew  him  well,  and  felt  perfectly  free  to  call  with 
me.  It  seemed  that  he  had  anticipated  my  call,  and 
he  met  me  with  a  pleasant  smile  and  a  hearty  wel- 
come. He  was  a  large,  noble-looking  man,  of  fine 
countenance,  and  simple  and  agreeable  manners  ; 
and  the  whole  impression  that  he  made  upon  me 
was  pleasant.  He  told  me  that  he  had  been  more 
or  less  a  paralytic  for  twenty-seven  years,  but  had 
not  been  absolutely  confined  till  within  the  two  or 
three  years  immediately  preceding.  For  some  time 


JOHN    GALT.  233 

he  was  unable  to  move  at  all ;  but  he  had  invented 
a  machine,  the  plan  of  which  he  showed  me,  by 
means  of  which  he  obtained  exercise  very  similar 
to  that  of  riding  on  horseback.  He  was  about 
sending  an  account  of  it  for  publication  to  Fraser's 
Magazine  ;  and  after  I  reached  Glasgow,  as  I  had 
expressed  some  curiosity  concerning  it,  he  actually 
sent  me  a  written  description,  accompanied  with 
a  drawing  of  it  by  his  own  hand. 

MT.  Gait  seemed  familiar  with  our  country,  and  said 
he  had  visited  it  twice — first  in  1825,  and  again  in 
1827,  1828,  1829  ;  that  he  had  children  residing  in 
Canada,  and  that  nothing  but  his  infirmity  prevented 
him  from  joining  them.  His  recollections  of  his  visits 
here  seemed  altogether  pleasant ;  and  he  spoke  with 
much  gratitude  of  the  kindness  he  had  received  from 
many  distinguished  individuals,  and  indeed  from  the 
people  generally  whose  acquaintance  he  made.  He 
mentioned  a  trifling  circumstance  which  occurred 
while  he  was  in  Canada,  which,  he  said,  occasioned 
him  no  little  vexation,  as  it  led  some  to  suppose  that 
he  intended  to  treat  our  national  character  with  im- 
proper levity,  when  nothing  could  have  been  further 
from  his  thoughts.  He  wrote,  for  the  amusement 
of  a  few  of  his  friends  at  Quebec,  a  farce  in  which 
he  sportively  introduced  some  of  the  American  pe- 
culiarities of  manner,  speech,  &c.,  but  without  the 
least  intention  of  manifesting  disrespect  to  any 
body,  or  wounding  any  one's  feelings.  It  was,  how- 
ever, taken  up  by  the  newspapers  in  quite  a  differ- 


234  JOHN    GALT. 

ent  way  from  what  he  had  intended,  and  a  Mr. 
Graham,  a  friend  of  his  in  New  York,  and  the 
editor  of  a  newspaper,  defended  him.  When  he 
came  to  New  York,  that  he  might  demonstrate  to 
the  people  the  harmlessness  of  his  intentions  in  what 
he  had  done,  he  wrote  another  farce,  in  which  he 
took  off,  in  a  similar  manner,  the  peculiarities  of 
his  own  country ;  and  this  was  exhibited,  much  to 
the  amusement  of  the  audience,  and  he  believed  was 
regarded  as  an  ample  atonement  for  the  unfortunate 
slip  which  he  had  before  made.  He  intimated  his 
intention,  if  his  health  should  any  way  admit  of 
it,  still  to  write  a  book  concerning  America ;  and, 
while  he  would  dedicate  the  whole  work  to  the  Earl 
of  Dalhousie,  he  wished  to  dedicate  a  certain  part 
of  it  to  Philip  Hone,  for  whom,  as  well  as  for  Chan- 
cellor Kent  and  Chief  Justice  Spencer,  (then)  among 
the  living,  and  Dewitt  Clinton  and  Dr.  Hosack, 
among  the  dead,  he  expressed  a  high  regard.  We 
had  a  good  deal  of  conversation  in  respect  to  George 
Thompson's  mission  to  the  United  States,  which  had 
a  little  before  been  completed,  and  which  he  un 
hesitatingly  pronounced  an  outrage  upon  all  decency 
and  when  I  mentioned  to  him  the  utter  falsity  of 
certain  statements,  concerning  things  with  which  I 
was  personally  conversant,  which  Thompson  had  made, 
and  which  were  then  circulating  through  the  Brit- 
ish newspapers,  he  said  unhesitatingly,  that  if  I 
would  write  out  the  true  version  of  the  case  in  an- 
swer to  his  charges,  he  would  see  that  it  was  made 


JOHN    GALT.  235 

public  in  a  way  that  would  be  entirely  unexception- 
able. He  gave  me,  as  a  keepsake,  a  beautiful  little 
sonnet^ — the  last  thing  he  had  written — addressed  to 
Lady  Charlotte  Bury,  who  was  his  intimate  friend, 
and  whom  he  considered  one  of  the  most  gifted 
women  of  the  age.  I  left  him,  happy  in  having 
made  his  acquaintance,  and  feeling  that,  physically, 
intellectually,  and  socially,  at  least,  he  was  a  noble 
specimen  of  a  man.  I  had  one  or  two  kind  letters 
from  him  after  my  return  home — a  gratifying  evi- 
dence that  he  had  not  forgotten  me.  Of  his  religious 
views  I  know  nothing ;  but  he  seemed  to  be  very 
kindly  and  respectfully  regarded  in  the  community 
in  which  he  lived. 


XXXIV. 


T  HAD  often  heard  of  G-REVILLE  EWING  as  one 
of  the  most  respectable  and  venerable  ministers 
of  Glasgow ;  and  when  I  became  acquainted  with 
him,  I  found  him  all  that  I  had  heard  him  repre- 
sented to  be.  He  was  far  advanced  in  life — I  should 
think  little,  if  at  all,  short  of  seventy ;  was  of  rather 
a  large  figure,  had  a  full  face,  a  keen,  expressive 
eye,  and  in  his  general  appearance  reminded  me  a 
good  deal  of  President  Dwight.  In  his  manners 
he  was  perfectly  urbane  and  gentlemanly,  and  had 
more  of  the  old  school  about  him  than  almost  any 
person  I  met  in  Scotland.  He  was  rather  inclined 


GBEVILLE    EWING.  237 

to  be  grave  in  -his  conversation,  and  yet  lie  was  by 
no  means  without  a  share  of  good  humour,  and  would 
sometimes  tell  a  very  amusing  anecdote.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  and  be- 
gan his  labours  as  a  minister  in  that  connexion  ;  but 
he  left  it  at  an  early  period,  and  became  a  Con- 
gregationalist ;  and  he  had  for  many  years  stood, 
with  Dr.  Wardlaw,  quite  at  the  head  of  the  Con- 
gregational body  in  Scotland.  He  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  a  very  learned  man,  and  was  the  author 
of  a  Hebrew  Lexicon.  At  the  time  I  saw  him,  he 
was  laid  by,  in  consequence  of  the  almost  total  loss 
of  his  sight ;  and  I  believe  he  never  recovered  it. 
He  seemed  to  feel  that  the  hand  of  God  was  rest- 
ing heavily  upon  him,  but  he  evinced  the  most  se- 
rene and  unqualified  submission  to  the  Divine  will. 
Indeed,  I  have  rarely  seen  so  fine  an  example  of  a 
truly  Christian  old  age. 

As  Mr.  Ewing  was  a  man  of  another  generation, 
and  had  been  acquainted  with  many  of  the  great 
lights  of  Scotland  who  had  passed  away,  I  made 
inquiries  of  him  concerning  a  number  of  those  whose 
names  were  most  familiar,  or  whose  characters  were 
most  interesting  to  me  ;  and  I  could  scarcely  inquire 
about  any  body  whom  he  had  not,  at  some  time, 
reckoned  among  his  acquaintance.  He  knew  Dr. 
Blair,  and  once  preached  for  him  ;  and  he  pronounced 
him  one-  of  the  most  elegant  and  accomplished 
preachers  he  ever  knew ;  but  so  much  was  his  mind 
chained  to  his  pen,  that  he  wrote-  not  only  every 


238  GREVILLE    EWING. 

word  of  his  sermon,  but  even  of  his  prayers  ;  and, 
on  that  account,  he  was  once  characterized  in  some 
waggish  piece  as,  "  Dr.  Speaknone,  Professor  of 
Rhetoric."  Mr.  Ewing  knew  Robert  Walker  also, 
Blair's  excellent  colleague  ;  and  he  could  hardly  find 
words  to  express  his  admiration  of  his  character  and 
writings.  He  had  to  encounter  considerable  oppo- 
sition from  the  "moderates,"  on  account  of  the 
strongly  evangelical  type  of  his  preaching ;  but  his 
character  was  so  pure  and  elevated,  as,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  disarm  hostility.  Mr.  Ewing  was  familiar 
also  with  Dr.  M'Knight,  the  commentator,  and  often 
heard  him  preach — he  thought  him  a  very  honest  man, 
though  somewhat  eccentric,  and  he  remarked  that  he 
would  often  give  great  offence  by  his  abruptness  of 
manner.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  selling  his  own  books, 
and  would  not  suffer  them  to  go  into  the  hands  of 
a  bookseller,  as  he  wished  to  secure  to  himself  the 
whole  profits.  When  Mr.  Ewing  was  about  leav- 
ing the  Establishment,  he  applied,  through  some 
friend,  to  Dr.  M'Knight  for  a  copy  of  his  Comment- 
ary ;  and  the  Doctor  said,  with  great  surprise,  "Well, 
if  Mr.  Ewing  wants  my  books,  there  is  some  hope 
of  him  yet."  Mr.  Ewing  was  a  fellow-student  at 
Edinburgh  with  Dr.  Mason.  He  regarded  him  at 
that  time  as  a  young  man  of  extraordinary  promise, 
though  I  believe  he  considered  him  as  having  more 
than  fulfilled  the  highest  expectations  which  were 
then  formed  concerning  him.  He  repeated  to  me 
the  anecdote  which  I  had  heard  before,  of  Dr. 


DK.    HE  UGH.  239 

Mason's  criticism,  while  in  the  Divinity  Hall,  on 
a  sermon  delivered  as  an  exercise  by  one  of  the 
students — that  it  would  be  much  better  if  it  were 
baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
I  understood  him  that  he  was  present  when  the 
criticism  was  made.  He  had  a  very  distinct  recollec- 
tion of  my  venerable  old  friend,  Dr.  Muir,  of  Alex- 
andria, while  he  was  minister  of  Lady  Glenorchy's 
chapel,  (where  Mr.  Ewing  himself  afterwards  for 
some  time  officiated,)  and  spoke  of  him  as  a  man 
of  great  Christian  worth,  and  a  faithful  and  excel- 
lent minister.  I  was  glad  to  find  that  Mr.  Ewing 
had  no  sympathy  with  the  George  Thompson  party 
on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  regarded  the  popular 
movement  in  relation  to  it  in  Great  Britain  as,  to 
say  the  least,  of  very  equivocal  tendency. 

Dr.  HEUGH,  when  I  saw  him,  must  have  been 
about  fifty  years  of  age.  He  was  rather  small  in 
stature,  but  well  proportioned,  and  had  a  counte- 
nance beaming  with  intelligence  and  good  nature. 
He  was  not  merely  cheerful,  but  playful  and  hu- 
morous, and  was  the  life  of  every  circle  in  which  I 
saw  him ;  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him 
in  several,  besides  spending  some  time  at  his  own 
house.  I  breakfasted  with  him  one  morning,  and, 
just  before  breakfast  was  announced,  we  had  been 
speaking  of  the  climate  in  the  United  States,  and 
he  had  expressed  his  surprise  at  my  saying  that 
the  thermometer  often  rose  as  high  as  ninety.  As 


240  DK.    HE  UGH. 

we  were  about  to  take  our  seats  at  the  table,  lie 
pointed  me  to  one  nearest  the  f;re,  saying,  "  Here, 
Sir,  you  surely  need  not  be  afraid  of  that,  if  you 
have  to  bear  ninety  at  home."  He  was  a  zealous 
anti-slavery  man,  and  yet  was  not  at  all  above  being 
enlightened  on  certain  points,  in  respect  to  which 
it  seemed  to  me  that  some  of  his  countrymen  were 
so  sure  that  they  were  right,  as  not  to  desire  any 
further  information.  He  was  extremely  fluent  in 
conversation,  and  never  hesitated  for  a  thought  or 
a  word ;  and  hence  I  was  surprised  to  hear  him  say 
that  he  was  accustomed  to  write  out  his  sermons  to 
the  last  word,  and  not  unfrequently  his  public 
speeches  also,  and  commit  them  doggedly  to  memory. 
It  was  not  uncommon  at  that  time  for  ministers  in 
the  Established  Church,  especially  in  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow,  to  read  their  sermons  ;  but  in  the  United 
Secession,  to  which  Dr.  Heugh  belonged,  there  was 
so  strong  a  prejudice  against  it  as  to  amount  well 
nigh  to  an  absolute  prohibition.  Dr.  Heugh  lived 
quite  a  number  of  years  after  I  saw  him,  and  was 
altogether  one  of  the  most  beloved  and  honoured 
ministers  of  his  denomination.  The  latter  part  of 
his  life  was  embittered  by  a  vile  attack  that  was 
made  upon  him,  if  I  mistake  not,  by  one  of  his 
own  brethren  in  the  ministry ;  but  the  Presbytery 
threw  themselves  as  a  wall  of  fire  about  him,  and 
the  public  at  large  branded  the  assailant  with  de- 
served ignominy. 


DR.    WAEDLAW.  241 

I  heard  Dr.  WARDLAW  preach,  but,  owing  to  cer- 
tain circumstances,  did  not  make  his  acquaintance. 
He  was  a  fine,  intelligent-looking  man,  was  graceful 
and  attractive  in  his  manner,  read  his  sermon 
throughout,  but  read  with  great  freedom  and  ele- 
gance, and  had  so  little  of  the  Scotch  accent  that, 
but  for  his  pronunciation  of  two  or  three  words,  I 
should  not  have  suspected  his  belonging  north  of 
the  Tweed.  I  saw  Dr.  M'GiLL  also,  the  Professor  of 
Theology  in  the  University.  He  was  far  advanced 
in  life,  was  very  plain  in  appearance  and  manners, 
but  gave  me  an  impression  of  great  spirituality  and 
devotion.  I  understood  that  he  originally  started  with 
the  Methodists,  though  he  had  little  in  common  with 
them  but  their  Arminianism  ;  but  he,  after  a  while, 
landed  in  the  Established  Church,  and  had  been  for 
many  years  a  thorough  and  earnest  Calvinist.  I  had 
the  pleasure  also  of  making  the  acquaintance  of 
the  Kev.  Dr.  Struthers  of  the  Belief  Church,  of  the 
Rev.  (now  Dr.)  David  King,  of  the  Kev.  John  Ander- 
son, and  several  others  of  the  prominent  clergymen 
of  Glasgow,  from  all  of  whom  I  received  marked 
expressions  of  kindness.  During  my  stay  in  Glas- 
gow I  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Dr.  Kobert  McNish, 
the  author  of  the  "  Philosophy  of  Sleep,"  and  some 
other  works  of  considerable  popularity  in  their  day. 
He  seemed  to  be  a  young  man  of  high  literary  prom- 
ise ;  but  it  was  promise  to  a  great  extent  never 
realized,  as  death  terminated  his  career  within  a 
year  or  two  after  I  parted  with  him. 

11 


XXXV. 


MRS.  GRANT'S  "Letters  from  the  Mountains" 
had  been  familiar  to  me  almost  from  my  child- 
hood ;  and,  had  I  known  nothing  more  of  her,  the 
interest  which  I  had  felt  in  that  work  would  of 
itself  have\rendered  it  specially  desirable  to  me  to 
make  her  acquaintance.  I  called  to  see  her  under 
the  advantage  of  being  conversant  with  some  of  the 
scenes  of  her  early  childhood  in  this  country,  as  well 
as  of  having  known  a  number  of  persons  whom  she 
knew  well  as  children  more  than  seventy  years  be- 
fore. Nothing  could  exceed  the  cordiality  with  which 
she  greeted  me  ;  and  one  of  the  first  things  she  said 
to  me  was — "Well,  now  you  find  me  here  alone, 
and  I  am  alone  during  the  greater  part  of  every 
day.  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  you  at  any  time,  morning, 
noon,  or  night,  during  your  stay  in  Edinburgh.  You 
will  always  find  me  here,  and  always  find  a  welcome, 
come  when  you  will.  I  am  an  old  woman,  but  I 
think  I  have  my  faculties  about  as  well  as  ever.  I 
want  to  ask  you  a  great  many  questions  about 


MBS.    GRANT.  243 

America,  and  especially  about  the  neighbourhood  in 
which  I  used  to  live  ;  and  if  there  is  any  way  in 
which  I  can  serve  you,  either  by  communicating  to 
you  anything  of  interest  that  I  know,  or  by  intro- 
ducing you  to  my  friends  here,  it  will  be  a  real 
gratification  to  me  to  do  so."  I  had  not  the  least 
doubt  of  her  sincerity,  and  accordingly  availed  my- 
self of  the  permission  she  had  given  me  to  visit  her 
without  ceremony,  whenever  I  found  it  convenient. 

Mrs.  Grant  was  every  way — physically,  intellect- 
ually, morally,  a  great  woman.  She  had  a  large 
frame,  a  large  head,  large  features,  and  was  rather 
masculine  in  her  general  appearance  ;  she  looked  as 
if  she  might  have  taken  the  place  of  her  father  in 
military  command  (for  her  father  was  a  British  offi- 
cer) ;  as  if  she  might  have  been  a  match,  in  respect 
either  to  effort  or  endurance,  for  almost  any  man 
whom  I  ever  saw.  She  was  then  several  years  past 
eighty,  and  her  memory  for  old  things  was  as  good 
as  ever,  though  her  repetition  two  or  three  times 
over  of  the  same  incident  showed  me  that,  notwith- 
standing her  own  opinion  that  her  faculties  were 
unimpaired,  time  had  dealt  with  her  somewhat  as 
with  other  people.  She  suffered  a  good  deal  from 
bodily  decrepitude,  and  was  drawn  from  one  room 
to  another  in  a  chair,  and  this  constituted  the  whole 
of  her  exercise.  But  she  was  extremely  sociable 
and  communicative,  and  was  a  fine  example  of  good 
humour  and  youthful  feeling  coming  out  in  con- 
nexion with  venerable  age.  . 


244  MRS.    GRANT. 

She  seemed  disposed  to  dwell  much  upon  the  past, 
and  I  thought  she  did  it  as  much  for  her  own  sake 
as  for  mine  ;  though  she  could  have  talked  about 
nothing  that  would  have  interested  me  so  much, 
She  told  me  that  she  remembered  distinctly  leav- 
ing Scotland  for  America,  when  she  was  three  years 
old,  her  father  having  preceded  her  a  few  months, 
and  then  sent  for  her  mother  and  herself;  that  she 
recollected  their  arrival  at  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  her  seeing  with  great  surprise  a  whole  ship- 
load of  negroes,  though  she  was  not  at  all  frightened 
at  their  strange  appearance  ;  that  she  and  her  mother 
went  thence  to  Philadelphia,  and  finally  to  Albany, 
which  they  considered  for  some  years  as  their  home  ; 
that  she  had  a  little  negress  under  her  instruction, 
whom  her  father  had  purchased,  and  that  she  had 
taught  her,  so  far  as  she  could,  everything  that  she 
knew  herself;  that  her  father  sold  her  to  a  Mr. 
Schuyler,  when  he  left  the  country,  and  she  well 
recollected  her  feelings  of  agony  on  seeing  the  silver 
dollars  counted  out  to  pay  for  her ;  that  the  child 
told  her  that,  if  they  were  separated,  they  should 
never  get  to  Heaven  together ;  and  that  when  they 
left  Albany,  she  actually  followed  them  even  into 
the  water,  after  they  had  got  into  the  boat.  I  asked 
her  if  she  ever  knew  anything  of  her  afterwards,  and 
she  said  "  Yes ;  I  kept  my  eye  upon  her  for  a 
long  time ;"  and  then  added,  "  I  never  make  an 
acquaintance,  but  that  I  follow  the  individual  after-  ' 
wards."  When  I  mentioned  to  her  that  I  had  been 


MRS.    GRANT.  245 

at  the  old  Schuyler  house,  between  Albany  and  Troy, 
where  she  used  to  live,  and  had  thought  of  her,  and 
spoken  of  her,  and  wondered  which  room  she  was 
accustomed  to  occupy,  she  seemed  most  deeply  in- 
terested, and  remarked  that,  as  she  remembered  it, 
it  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  places  she  ever 
saw ;  that  the  island  before  it,  and  the  woods  be- 
hind it,  gave  it,  at  least  to  her  young  mind,  an 
almost  matchless  attraction.  She  remembered  several 
of  the  old  Dutch  families  in  the  neighbourhood  with 
great  interest,  and  the  late  General  Stephen  Van 
Kensselaer  she  had  held  in  her  arms  when  he  was 
a  little  boy.  Her  recollections  of  various  places  in 
Albany  were  perfectly  distinct,  and  she  thought  not 
only  that  she  could  easily  make  a  drawing  of  them, 
but  that  if  she  were  actually  set  down  in  the  locali- 
ties, she  should  know  where  she  was  !  She  spoke 
of  a  Mr.  Yan  Buren  who  lived  not  far  from  them, 
but  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  in  a  place 
which  she  had  always  thought  must  have  resembled 
Egypt ;  and  she  was  curious  to  know  whether  the 
(then)  Vice-President  did  not  belong  to  the  same 
family.  She  referred  with  great  horror  to  the  infi- 
delity of  Thomas  Jefferson  ;  and  mentioned,  by  way 
of  illustration,  that  when  Jefferson  was  travelling 
in  Virginia,  by  a  church  which  had  become  dilapi- 
dated, and  was  used  as  a  stable,  he  remarked  that 
"  Christianity  began  in  a  stable,  and  it  would  end 
there."  She  recollected  with  much  interest  the  old 
Dutch  church  in  Albany,  which  she  used  to  see 


246  MBS.     GRANT. 

on  Christmas  day  splendidly  ornamented  with,  ever- 
greens ;  and  she  said  that  Dominie  Westerlo,  by  his 
vigorous  gesticulation,  would  sometimes  scatter  them 
till  the  pulpit  was  almost  dismantled. 

Mrs.  Grant  left  America  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
in  the  year  1769.  She  said  that  she  had  actually 
begun  to  commit  to  paper  some  account  of  the 
events  of  her  life,  and  especially  what  she  saw  and 
experienced  in  America  ;  but  it  was  somewhat  doubt- 
ful whether  she  should  proceed  with  it.  She  men- 
tioned that  if  the  Yankees,  for  whom  she  acknowl- 
edged that  she  used  to  have  no  great  respect,  had 
not  treated  her  badly,  she  should  have  been  a  great 
heiress  ;  that  two  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Claren- 
don, Vermont,  were  given  to  her  father  as  a  half- 
pay  officer,  and  that  he  bought  four  thousand  more, 
making  in  all  six  thousand  ;  and  that  his  intention 
was  to  have  sent  over  Highlanders  to  settle  it,  but 
that  the  squatters  (rogues  as  they  were)  had  sat 
down  upon  it,  and,  finally,  it  had  fallen  into  their 
hands  ;  that  some  of  her  American  friends  had  ex 
pressed  the  opinion,  even  lately,  that  it  might  b 
recovered,  but  that  she  had  never  felt  disposed  t 
prosecute  the  matter.  She  stated  that,  on  her  fa- 
ther's return  to  Scotland  from  America,  they  set- 
tled down  in  the  Highlands,  about  equi-distant  from 
the  two  oceans,  and  there  she  lived  at  the  tim 
of  her  marriage  ;  that  her  husband  died  before  he 
father,  leaving  her  with  eight  children  ;  that,  though 
her  circumstances  were  greatly  depressed,  yet  fihe 


MBS.    GRANT.  247 

lived  continually  upon  trust,  never  doubting  that  all 
would  come  out  well  at  last ;  and  she  had  lived  to 
see  her  best  expectations  in  regard  to  the  present 
world  not  only  fulfilled,  but  greatly  exceeded.  She 
spoke  with  the  utmost  gratitude  of  the  kindness  of 
Providence  in  having  placed  her  in  such  pleasant 
circumstances  in  her  old  age.  Besides  what  she  had 
earned  by  teaching,  she  had  a  thousand  pounds  left 
to  her  as  a  legacy,  by  "an  angelic  young  lady"  from 
Ireland,  formerly  under  her  care.  The  whole  amount 
of  the  legacy  was  five  thousand  pounds  ;  but,  owing 
to  the  aversion  of  the  family  to  pay  it,  she  had 
taken  up  with  what  they  were  pleased  to  offer. 
In  addition  to  this,  she  had  a  hundred  pounds  an- 
nually, settled  upon  her  by  Sir  William  Grant,  a  re- 
mote relative  ;  a  hundred  from  the  widow's  fund, 
(being  the  widow  of  a  clergyman  of  the  Established 
Church ;)  nearly  a  hundred  more  in  consequence  of 
her  husband  having  been  a  chaplain  in  the  army ; 
and  still  another  hundred  from  government.  She 
expressed  a  strong  wish  that  the  property  might  do 
good  after  she  had  done  with  it.  Some  five-and- 
twenty  years  before,  there  was  a  prize  of  a  golden 
medal,  or  twenty  guineas,  offered  for  the  best  Essay 
on  the  state  of  the  Highlands.  Happening  to  be 
familiar  with  the  subject,  and  to  have  a  little  leisure, 
she  determined  to  write  for  the  prize  ;  and  she 
gained  it.  And  as  she  was  not  at  that  time  over- 
flowing with  guineas,  she  preferred  the  guineas  to 
the  medal,  though  they  gave  her  a  silver  medal  in 


248  MRS.    GRANT. 

addition,  which,  she  showed  me.  She  also  gave  me 
a  medal,  on  which  were  struck  the  figures  of  the 
King  and  Queen,  to  remind  me  of  her,  as  she  said, 
when  the  ocean  should  roll  between  us  ;  but  I  lit- 
tle needed  any  such  remembrancer. 

Mrs.  Grant  was  the  warm  friend  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  considered  him  as,  in  many  respects,  a 
model  man.  She  said  that  he  was  very  simple- 
hearted  and  benevolent ;  and  that  a  clergyman,  who 
had  been  with  him  some  days  previous  to  his  setting 
out  on  his  last  journey,  assured  her  that  his  religious 
views  were  quite  evangelical,  and  the  frame  of  his 
mind  very  serious.  She  was  also  very  intimately 
acquainted  with  Bishop  Porteus,  whose  portrait  she 
showed  me,  it  having  been  presented  to  her  by  his 
widow.  She  was  once  invited  by  the  Bishop  to  pass 
five  days  at  his  house,  the  time  being  thus  limited,  be- 
cause his  house  was  to  be  filled  by  the  Irish  Bishops, 
who  were  coming  to  celebrate  the  birthday  of  George 
the  Third.  She  told  me  that  her  first  edition  of 
"Letters  from  the  Mountains"  had  in  it  a  good 
deal  that  was  playful,  though,  of  course,  nothing 
that  was  irreverent ;  that  good  Bishop  Porteus 
wanted  to  make  a  good  book  of  it — which  it  was 
never  intended  to  be ;  that  he  and  some  pious  noble- 
man (I  have  forgotten  his  name)  occupied  them- 
selves a  day  or  two  in  going  carefully  over  the 
first  edition,  and  cutting  out  considerable  portions 
of  it,  in  order  to  make  it  more  serious,  that,  on 
account  of  her  great  respect  for  the  Bishop,  she 


MRS.     GRANT.  249 

published  a  second  edition,  with  his  proposed  omis- 
sions ;  and  that  when  Murray  the  bookseller  pro- 
posed to  her,  some  time  after,  to  reprint  the  original 
edition,  she  could  not  find  a  copy  of  it,  though  she 
sent  for  it  in  every  direction.  She  told  me  that  her 
correspondence  was  still  very  large,  and  every  morn- 
ing after  breakfast  she  occupied  herself  in  writing 
one  or  two  letters  ;  and  that  she  found  she  could 
not  pass  a  day  with  any  comfort,  unless  she  had 
some  degree  of  mental  exercise. 

This  remarkable  old  lady  lived  a  year  or  two  at 
least  after  my  visit  to  her,  and  wrote  me  two  or 
three  kind  letters.  I  love  to  think  of  her  in  all  her 
masculine  dignity,  with  her  great  stores  of  knowl- 
edge, her  fine  powers  of  conversation,  and  her  over- 
flowing good  humour  and  benevolence.  Her  name 
can  never  be  lost  out  of  the  history  of  her  country. 

11* 


XXXVI. 


T  HAD  had  some  epistolary  acquaintance  with  Dr. 
CHALMEKS  before  I  saw  him,  and,  therefore,  did 
not  meet  him  quite  as  a  stranger.  He  gave  me 
the  warmest  welcome,  and  did  it  in  the  broadest 
Scotch.  It  is  not  necessary  to  say  how  he  looked, 
for  his  face  has  become  now  almost  as  well  known 
in  this  country  as  Washington's ;  but  his  appear- 
ance was  a  great  deal  more  youthful  and  vigorous 
than  I  had  expected ;  and  I  was  not  a  little 
amused  to  find  him  bursting  into  an  expression  of 
astonishment  that  I  was  not  at  least  as  old 
himself.  I  told  him  that  I  had  but  a  few  moment 
to  spend  with  him  then  ;  and  we  at  once  made  an 
agreement  that  I  should  come  over  to  Burnt  Island, 
his  country  residence,  distant  seven  miles,  and  pass 
a  day  with  him ;  and  he  remarked,  that  we  could 
see  more  of  each  other  there  in  one  day,  than  in 
two  or  three  weeks  at  his  house  in  Edinburgh.  He 
took  from  his  pocket  a  letter  from  Philadelphia, 


DK.     CHALMERS.  251 

and  showed  me  the  postscript,  in  which  the  writer 
had  requested  him  to  direct  his  answer  to  him,  as 

"  Honourable  F W ,"  &c.,  and  asked  me 

if  I  knew  the  person.  Upon  my  saying  that  I  did 
not,  he  said  he  supposed  that  he  must  be  a  member 
of  Congress,  from  his  having  the  title  Honourable. 
I  told  him  that  did  not  prove  it ;  as  that  title  was 

0 

given  to  many  others  beside  members  of  Congress  ; 
to  which  he  replied,  with  great  good  nature — "  Then 
the  appetite  of  human  nature  for  titles  does  some- 
times break  out,  even  among  you,  republican  as  you 
are."  The  question  of  slavery  having  been  incident- 
ally referred  to,  he  gave  me,  in  a  few  words,  the 
outline  of  a  plan  for  emancipation,  the  idea  of  which 
he  took  from  Humboldt's  account  of  slavery  among 
the  Spaniards — the  principle  of  which  is,  that  the 
slave,  by  having  a  certain  part  of  each  week  allowed 
him,  is  to  purchase  his  own  freedom.  He  had  pro- 
posed the  same  plan  some  years  before  to  Lord 
Brougham ;  and,  though  Brougham  complimented 
him  for  it,  and  professed  to  think  it  very  ingenious 
and  beautiful,  yet,  on  account  of  the  power  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  as  Dr.  Chalmers  supposed,  he  never  ven- 
tured to  propose  it  to  the  British  nation. 

A  few  mornings  after  this  first  interview  with  the 
Doctor,  I  set  out  to  go  to  Burnt  Island,  to  pass  the 
day  with  him.  I  walked  to  New  Haven,  a  miserable 
suburb  of  Edinburgh,  distant  a  mile  or  two  from 
the  centre  of  the  town,  in  expectation  of  taking 
the  boat  to  cross  the  Frith  of  Forth,  at  ten  o'clock, 


252  DR.    CHALMERS. 

agreeably  to  what  I  understood  to  be  Dr.  Chalmers* 
direction ;  but  when  I  reached  the  wharf,  I  found 
that  I  was  one  hour  too  early.  I  embarked  at 
eleven,  and,  the  day  being  fine,  had  a  delightful 
sail  across  the  river.  On  our  approaching  the  shore, 
the  small  boat  came  out  to  meet  the  steamboat ;  but 
as  I  happened,  at  the  moment  of  its  departure,  to 
be  in  the  cabin,  I  lost  the  opportunity  of  going 
ashore  with  the  rest,  though  the  boat  returned  for 
me  after  they  had  landed.  As  I  came  near  the 
landing-place,  I  saw  Dr.  Chalmers  with  his  little 
daughter,  waiting  for  me  on  the  shore  ;  and  one  of  the 
boatmen  told  me  he  had  been  looking  out  for  me 
a  long  time.  He  gave  me  another  cordial  Scotch 
welcome,  and  when  I  told  him  that  I  understood 
him  to  say  that  the  boat  came  at  ten,  he  said  that 
he  meant  that  she  arrived  at  ten — as  it  was  her 
arrival  in  which  he  was  most  interested ;  but  he 
should  be  more  particular  in  his  directions  to  his 
friends  hereafter. 

I  walked  with  the  Doctor  immediately  to  his 
house — a  two-story  stone  building,  at  the  east  end 
of  the  village,  which  he  had  then  lately  purchased, 
and  which  commanded  a  beautiful  view  of  both 
land  and  water.  I  found  but  part  of  his  family — 
three  daughters  only — Mrs.  Chalmers  and  the  other 
daughters  being  expected  over  in  the  afternoon. 
After  sitting  a  while,  and  taking  a  little  lunch,  the 
Doctor  proposed  a  walk ;  and  he  and  his  daughter 
Grace — an  intelligent  and  agreeable  young  lady. 


DR.     CHALMERS.  253 

who  has  died  within  the  last  year  or  two — and  my- 
self took  a  stroll  over  the  hill  in  the  rear  of  the 
village,  where  we  enjoyed  one  of  the  most  extended 
and  beautiful  views  in  the  whole  region.  The  Doc- 
tor soon  mounted  his  hobby — the  subject  of  Church 
establishments  ;  and  though  it  was  by  no  means  a 
favourite  subject  with  me — for  I  had  been  surfeited 
with  it,  on  one  side  or  the  other,  from  the  time 
I  had  entered  Scotland — yet  I  was  glad  to  hear 
him  talk  about  anything ;  and  he  discussed  this  with 
such  fervid  eloquence,  that  I  quite  forgot  that  I 
would  as  soon  have  heard  him  talk  about  something 
else.  He  recognized  an  important  distinction  be- 
tween external  and  internal  voluntaryism ;  the  lat- 
ter, that  is,  where  the  poor  are  left  to  provide  re- 
ligious instruction  for  themselves,  he  thought  would 
never  avail ;  the  former,  that  is,  where  persons  vol- 
unteer to  bestow  their  property  for  the  benefit  of 
the  lower  classes,  he  heartily  approved ;  and  this 
he  considered  the  true  principle  of  a  Church  estab- 
lishment— precisely  that  which  is  recognized  by  every 
missionary  society.  He  said  that  a  certain  distin- 
guished American  clergyman  who  had  been  in  Edin- 
burgh not  long  before,  made  a  speech  at  some  meet- 
ing, in  which  he  spoke  of  Church  establishments 
with  great  severity ;  but  that  when  this  clergy- 
man breakfasted  with  him,  a  few  mornings  after, 
and  heard  his  views  of  them,  he  greatly  lowered 
his  tone  of  condemnation,  and  even  went  so  far  as 
to  say  that  he  had  little  or  no  objection  to  his 


254  DR.     CHALMERS. 

theory.*  I  believe  Dr.  Chalmers  perceived  that  I 
did  not  manifest  any  great  enthusiasm  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  he  soon  changed  the  conversation,  remark- 
ing at  the  same  time,  that  he  doubted  not  that  I 
had  heard  enough  of  it,  and  that  he  had  not  intended 
to  trouble  me  with  it  at  all. 

A  good  deal  of  our  conversation  had  reference  to 
distinguished  individuals,  with  most  of  whom  Dr. 
Chalmers  had  been  personally  conversant.  Of  Presi- 
dent Edwards,  the  elder,  he  spoke  with  unbounded 
reverence  and  admiration,  and  remarked  that  he  had 
a  manuscript  sermon  of  his,  sent  him  by  Dr.  Sereno 
E.  Dwight,  which  he  valued  above  anything  in  his 
collection  of  autographs  ;  but  he  still  thought  that 
Edwards  had  pressed  the  notion  of  disinterested  be- 
nevolence too  far  ;  that  he  considered  his  statement  of 
this  subject  in  his  work  on  "  The  Affections"  particu- 
larly unfortunate,  as  the  Apostle  has  said  in  so  many 
words,  "We  love  Him,  because  He  first  loved  us." 
On  the  whole,  he  thought  Dr.  Balfour,  of  Glasgow, 
had  about  hit  the  truth  when  he  said,  that  "our 
love  to  Grod  begins  in  gratitude,  but  it  does  not 
end  there."  He  asked  me  if  Edwards  had  any  pro- 
pensity to  the  ludicrous.  I  told  him  my  impression 
was,  that  he  was  quite  the  opposite  of  that.  He 

*  As  my  excellent  friend  Dr.  Cox  has  done  me  the  honour  to  connect 
my  name  somewhat  jocosely  with  his  very  interesting  reminiscences  of 
Dr.  Chalmers,  I  trust  he  will  consider  it  only  a  matter  of  brotherly  reci- 
procity— aa  my  turn  for  writing  reminiscences  has  now  come — that  I 
should  state  that  it  was  he  to  whom  the  Doctor  gave  so  much  credit  for 
docility  in  listening  to  his  expositions  of  the  Church  and  State  question. 


DE.    CHALMERS.  255 

said  he  had  supposed  so  ;  and  yet  he  never  could  read 
his  book  on  Original  Sin  without  an  irrepressible 
disposition  to  laugh ;  that  he  pursued  his  argument 
against  Taylor  to  the  greatest  length ;  that  he  was 
not  contented  to  throw  him  into  the  dirt,  but  gave 
him  a  regular  kicking  and  thrashing  after  he  had 
got  him  there.  He  thought  it  a  great  proof  of  the 
soundness  of  the  revival  with  which  Edwards  was 
connected,  that  such  sermons  as  his  on  Justification 
should  have  been  heard  with  such  profound  atten- 
tion. He  spoke  of  Bishop  Butler  as  holding  nearly 
the  same  pjace  as  a  philosophical  Christian  that 
Edwards  did  as  an  evangelical  one — he  thought  it 
was  hardly  power  that  Butler  possessed,  but  an  ad- 
mirable soundness,  clearness,  and  simplicity  of  de- 
sign. He  pronounced  Eobert  Hall  more  Johnsonian 
in  his  conversation  than  any  man  he  ever  knew ; 
but  with  all  his  admiration  for  his  intellectual  char- 
acter, he  placed  him,  in  point  of  original  powers, 
below  John  Foster.  He  told  the  story,  which  I  had 
heard  before,  of  one  of  HalFs  parishioners  coming 
to  him  to  object  to  his  preaching  as  not  discrimi- 
natingly evangelical,  and  especially  as  having  too 
little  in  it  of  the  doctrine  of  predestination — to  which 
Hall  replied,  "You  believe  that  doctrine,  do  you, 
Sir  ?"  "  Yes,  Sir,"  said  the  parishioner  ;  "  indeed  I 
do."  "  And  so  do  I,"  answered  Hall ;  "  I  believe 
you  were  predestinated  to  be  a  fool,  and  you  have 
made  your  calling  and  election  sure."  Foster's  Life 
of  Hall  he  considered  as  one  of  the  finest  specimens 


256  DR.    CHALMERS. 

of  biography  in  the  English  language,  and  one  of 
Foster's  most  admirable  productions.  He  observed 
that  there  was  a  most  unfortunate  discrepancy  between 
Foster's  taste  and  talents ;  that  his  taste  led  him 
to  preach  to  the  poorest  classes  of  society,  but  that 
he  entirely  shot  over  their  heads,  and  had  actually 
preached  away  two  or  three  congregations. 

I  happened  to  mention  the  name  of  Rowland  Hill, 
and  the  Doctor  immediately  said,  with  great  en- 
thusiasm, that  he  considered  him  as  one  of  the  no- 
blest spirits  of  the  last  generation ;  and  then  added 
that,  as  he  was  passing  by  his  country  residence  in 
England,  Rowland  happening  to  know  that  he  was 
to  be  in  the  coach,  met  him,  and  took  him  imme- 
diately to  his  house,  where  he  had  provided  a  mag- 
nificent breakfast  for  him  ;  and  at  the  end  of  twenty 
minutes  conducted  him  back  to  the  coach,  and  in 
parting  with  him,  gave  him  a  most  affectionate  bene- 
diction, which  impressed  him  very  greatly.  He  spoke 
in  terms  of  high  respect  of  Dr.  Miller,  and  said  that 
he  was  accustomed  to  recommend  his  book  on  "  The 
Eldership"  to  his  students,  as  the  very  best  book  on 
the  subject ;  Dr.  Alexander's  work  on  "  The  Evi- 
dences," and  his  work  on  "  The  Canon,"  also,  he 
thought  very  important  contributions  to  that  de- 
partment of  the  literature  of  the  age.  He  spoke 
of  Dr.  Mason  as  possessing  superlative  talents,  and 
said  that  in  1817  he  heard  him  deliver  a  speech  in 
Freemasons'  Hall,  London,  which  was  characterized 
by  eloquence  that  he  had  rarely  known  surpassed. 


DR.    CHALMERS.  257 

He  mentioned  several  works  with  great  interest ;  and 
among  them  Winslow's  Sermons  on  the  "  Trinity," 
Dr.  Edward  Williams'  book  on  "  Divine  Sovereignty," 
and  Peter  Edwards'  work  on  "  Baptism,"  which  last 
he  considered  as  the  most  comprehensive  and  ef- 
fective argument  on  the  subject  of  baptism  that  he 
had  ever  met  with. 

He  gave  me  some  account  of  his  habits  of  study, 
and  particularly  of  writing  and  preaching.  He  said 
he  could  never  think  to  advantage  till  he  had  taken 
his  pen  ;  that  he  was  accustomed  to  do  much  of  his 
writing  in  the  morning  in  bed  ;  that  he  awoke  about 
five  o'clock,  and  partly  sitting  up  and  partly  lying 
down,  took  his  pen  and  ink,  and  in  that  fine,  lux- 
urious posture,  wrote  in  short-hand.  I  suppose, 
however,  that  this  early  use  of  his  pen  was,  to  some 
extent,  a  matter  of  necessity  with  him ;  as  he  told 
me  that  the  number  of  his  calls  in  a  day,  when  he 
was  in  Edinburgh,  sometimes  ran  up  to  nearly  forty. 
His  manner  of  preaching,  he  said,  was  reading  almost 
entirely,  though  he  occasionally  threw  an  extempo- 
raneous sentence  into  a  written  sermon.  His  difficulty 
in  extemporizing  was,  that  he  felt  all  the  time  that 
he  was  not  making  it  strong  enough,  and  dwelt  too 
long  upon  a  thought ;  and,  when  he  had  advanced 
twenty  minutes  in  the  time,  he  had  not  advanced 
more  than  five  in  his  subject.  He  adverted  to  the 
early  part  of  his  ministry,  during  which  he  had 
a  great  idea  of  distinguishing  himself  in  science, 
and  particularly  in  mathematics  ;  and  he  gave  me 


258  DR.     CHALMERS. 

a  volume  of  his  miscellaneous  tracts,  in  which  was 
one  written  at  that  early  period,  which  he  said  he 
was  almost  ashamed  to  let  pass  out  of  his  hands. 
He  spoke  with  great  interest  of  the  state  of  religion 
in  America,  and  expressed  the  belief  that,  in  the 
better  parts  of  the  United  States,  there  was  more 
serious  religion  than  there  was  in  Scotland.  He  re- 
gretted the  tendencies  to  extravagance  in  the  Tem- 
perance cause,  of  which  he  had  heard,  and  told  a 
story  in  that  connexion  that  he  had  had  from  some- 
body a  day  or  two  before.  Some  person  had,  by  some 
means,  swallowed  something  in  which  he  understood 
there  was  a  small  quantity  of  whiskey,  and  he  flew 
into  an  apothecary's  shop  for  an  emetic  ;  and  when 
the  apothecary  gave  it  to  him,  and  told  him  he 
thought  that  would  relieve  his  stomach,  he  said  that 
it  was  not  his  stomach  but  his  conscience  that  he 
wished  to  relieve.  The  Doctor  said  he  was  not  him- 
self a  member  of  the  Temperance  Society,  but  he 
was  not  at  all  opposed  to  it,  as  many  of  the  Scotch 
clergy  were,  on  the  ground  of  its  being  oppressive  in 
its  claims.  He  expressed  great  regret  that  the  Dis- 
senters manifested  what  he  thought  a  very  unreason- 
able hostility  to  the  Establishment  ;  but  he  added 
that  the  country  owed  a  great  deal  to  them,  and  he 
thought  their  distinct  existence  quite  essential  to  the 
perfection  of  the  system.  He  spoke  of  Wilberforce 
with  the  utmost  veneration,  and  stated  that  he  had 
twenty-six  letters  from  him  which,  until  within  a  very 
rocerit  period,  had  been  in  the  hands  of  his  biographer. 


DR.     CHALMERS.  259 

Dr.  Chalmers  remarked  that,  through  the  power 
of  association,  he  often  felt  much  like  a  boy,  though 
he  was  then  past  sixty ;  that  he  remembered  the 
time  when  he  used  to  look  upon  a  woman  of  thirty- 
six  as  very  old  ;  and  he  often  found  himself  making 
a  similar  calculation  still.  He  said  it  had  been  a 
sort  of  day-dream  with  him  that,  if  he  were  to  have 
a  green  old  age,  he  might  come  to  America  for  a 
few  months,  and  mentioned  the  route  he  would  like 
to  take,  which  was  chiefly  through  the  Northern 
States  ;  though  he  would  like  to  go  as  far  West  as 
Pittsburg,  which,  by  a  slight  geographical  mistake, 
he  located  near  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  But  he 
then  thought  it  improbable  that  he  should  ever  cross 
the  ocean,  unless  there  should  be  a  general  break- 
ing up  of  the  Establishment,  and  everything  else 
in  Great  Britain,  and  then  he  might  fly  with  his 
family  to  America  to  find  an  asylum. 

I  asked  Dr.  Chalmers  his  opinion  of  Edward  Ir- 
ving. He  replied  that  he  had  no  doubt  that  he  was 
a  truly  godly  man ;  and  he  attributed  his  extraor- 
dinary and  erratic  course,  not  to  affectation,  as  some 
had  done,  but  to  a  very  peculiar  conformation  of 
mind.  He  told  me  that  he  himself  chose  him  as 
his  assistant  at  Glasgow ;  and  while  he  delighted  a 
few,  he  disgusted  the  mass ;  that  the  market  was 
not  wide  enough  in  Scotland  for  such  wares  as  he 
dealt  in  ;  that,  after  going  to  London,  the  great  mass 
of  the  intelligent  population  passed  before  him,  and 
a  large  and  respectable  portion  were  detained  ;  and 


260  DR.     CHALMERS. 

that  if  he  had  not  fallen  into  such  revolting  extrav- 
agances, he  would  have  been  eminently  useful.  He 
considered  him  as  having  had  a  truly  noble  soul ;  and 
when  Lord  Calthorpe  applied  to  him  for  his  opinion  of 
Irving,  previous  to  his  subscribing  in  aid  of  the 
building  of  his  church,  his  reply  was,  that  he  was 
"a  fine  specimen  of  the  evangelical  engrafted  upon 
the  old  Koman."  The  last  time  Dr.  Chalmers  saw 
Irving,  Irving  told  him  that  he  could  not  part  with 
him  without  prayer,  and  he  actually  prayed  with  him, 
and  with  great  apparent  devotion.  He  acknowl- 
edged that  he  was  indebted  to  his  writings  for 
some  new  views  of  prophecy,  and  thought  the  mil- 
narian  system  was  at  least  entitled  to  a  fair  ex- 
amination. He  adverted  again  to  the  plan  which 
he  had  proposed  for  abolishing  slavery  in  the  colo- 
nies ;  and  when  I  asked  him  why  it  was  not  acted 
upon  by  the  British  Parliament,  he  replied  that 
great  bodies  move  slow  at  first,  but  when  they  be- 
gin to  move,  they  go  with  great  rapidity ;  that  the 
popular  cry  was  for  the  immediate  abolition  of  slavery, 
and  Parliament  could  not  resist  it. 

The  Doctor  expressed  great  gratification  from  the 
visits  he  had  had  from  many  American  clergymen  ; 
and  I  was  struck  with  the  fact  that,  in  several  cases, 
he  had  formed  a  very  correct  opinion  of  their  char- 
acters, from  seeing  them  an  hour  or  two.  He  remarked 
that  he  had  a  very  bad  memory  for  names  and  faces  ; 
that  he  had  a  page  in  his  memorandum-book  de- 
Voted  to  Americans,  and  he  regretted  that  he  did 


DR.    CHALMERS.  261 

not  bring  his  book  along  with  him,  that  he  might 
have  inquired  more  particularly  for  some  whose  ac- 
quaintance he  had  been  happy  in  making. 

Mrs.  Chalmers  came  with  her  daughters  late  in 
the  afternoon,  and  we  all  took  tea  with  a  Mrs.  Young, 
a  relative,  I  think,  of  the  Doctor,  agreeably  to  an 
engagement  which  he  had  made  in  the  morning. 
Mrs.  Chalmers  was  very  lady-like  in  her  manners 
and  appearance,  and  received  me  with  the  utmost 
cordiality.  After  tea  I  took  leave  of  the  whole 
circle,  and  the  Doctor  accompanied  me  to  the  boat 
with  many  expressions  of  good  will,  urging  me  to  come 
and  spend  another  day  with  him,  if  possible.  After 
I  had  parted  with  him,  and  the  boat  was  under 
weigh,  he  lingered  on  the  shore  till  we  were  getting 
beyond  speaking  distance,  when  we  exchanged  an- 
other and  a  last  farewell.  I  look  back  to  the  day 
I  spent  on  Burnt  Island  as  one  of  the  greenest 
spots  on  a  journey  of  more  than  half  a  century. 


XXXVII. 


TjB.  LEE,  at  tlie  time  I  saw  him,  seemed  to  be 
"*^  between  fifty  and  sixty  years  of  age,  and  was 
then  the  pastor  of  a  church  in  Edinburgh,  though 
it  was  not  many  years  after  that  he  became  Prin- 
cipal of  the  University,  in  place — if  I  mistake  not — 
of  Dr.  Baird.  I  found  him  very  gentlemanly  and 
every  way  obliging,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  making 
not  only  his  own  acquaintance,  but  that  of  his  family. 
I  heard  him  uniformly  spoken  of  with  great  respect 
especially  as  a  man  of  learning,  and  I  inferred  that 
he  had  somewhat  more  distinction  as  a  scholar  than 
a  preacher ;  though  I  understood  that  his  discourses 
were  always  sensible  and  instructive.  He  was  con 


DR.    LEE.  263 

sidered  one  of  the  greatest  antiquaries  in  Scotland. 
He  showed  me  his  immense  library ;  but,  unfortu- 
nately, it  was  just  then  in  a  thoroughly  chaotic  state, 
scattered  over  the  floor,  or  piled  up  in  heaps,  so 
that  I  could  form  little  idea  of  what  it  was,  except 
in  regard  to  its  extent  and  its  antiquity.  Among  his 
books  were  some,  I  think,  that  had  been  owned  by 
John  Knox,  and  that  bore  the  autograph  of  that 
lion-hearted  giant  of  a  man. 

After  I  had  dined  with  a  small  but  very  agreeable 
party  at  Dr.  Lee's,  we  went,  according  to  a  previous 
arrangement,  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Koyal  So- 
ciety, which  was  held  in  a  splendid  hall,  near  the 
corner  of  Prince's  street.  We  were  a  little  behind 
the  time  ;  and  when  we  went  in,  a  certain  learned 
Professor  was  reading  a  paper  on  the  siege  of  Syra- 
cuse, the  object  of  which,  as  nearly  as  I  could  un- 
derstand it,  was  to  show  that  the  account  given  of 
it  by  Thucydides  is  somewhat  doubtful,  as  it  is  at 
variance  with  some  other  authorities.  One  of  the 
gentlemen  who  accompanied  me  pronounced  it  the 
most  stupid  paper  he  had  ever  heard  read  before  the 
Society,  and  I  heard  nobody  speak  of  it  in  terms 
of  commendation.  He  was  followed  by  Professor 
Forbes,  who  extemporized  for  an  hour  on  the  polar- 
ization of  light  and  heat,  illustrating  some  of  his 
positions  by  splendid  experiments.  He  was  then  a 
very  young  man,  and  was  thought  a  worthy  suc- 
cessor to  the  celebrated  Leslie,  who  had  died  not 
long  before.  Dr.  Lee  introduced  me  to  him  at  the 


264  DR.     GORDON. 

close  of  the  meeting,  and  I  found  him  altogether  an 
unassuming  and  agreeable  person.  He  mentioned 
with  great  respect  the  names  of  several  of  our  dis- 
tinguished men  of  science  in  this  country,  with  two 
or  three  of  whom  he  was  in  habits  of  correspond- 
ence. I  was  introduced  also  to  several  other  men 
of  distinguished  name,  with  some  of  whom  I  had 
an  opportunity  afterwards  to  form  an  agreeable  ac- 
quaintance. 

Of  Dr.  GORDON  I  had,  of  course,  heard  much  on 
this  side  of  the  water ;  but  I  had  become  more 
specially  interested  in  him  from  hearing  him  greatly 
eulogized  by  one  of  his  particular  friends,  whom  I 
met  in  Paris,  and  who  had  beguiled  some  of  my 
hours  of  bodily  indisposition,  by  reading  aloud  for  my 
benefit  several  of  his  printed  sermons.  It  was  this 
same  friend  who  had  given  me  a  letter  to  him,  and 
the  Doctor  did  not  fail  duly  to  honour  it.  He 
called  to  see  me  shortly  after  receiving  it,  and  of- 
fered me  every  kindness.  I  found  him  a  tall,  spare 
man,  of  an  intelligent  face  and  Koman  nose,  mild 
in  his  manners,  and  extremely  interesting  in  his 
conversation.  He  had  a  somewhat  pallid  count 
nance,  and  his  whole  appearance  indicated  rathe 
feeble  health.  He  was  not,  on  the  one  hand,  so 
earnest  and  fluent  a  talker  as  some  I  have  heard ; 
nor,  on  the  other,  was  there  any  undue  precision  or 
formality  in  the  style  of  his  conversation ;  but  there 
was  an  admirable  appropriateness  and  finish  about 


DR.    GORDON.  265 

it  that  made  it  altogether  exceedingly  attractive. 
Whatever  the  subject  might  be,  you  felt  that  he 
spoke  from  a  thoroughly  furnished  mind.  He  talked 
about  slavery  with  great  good  sense  and  moderation. 
He,  in  common  with  almost  every  other  person  whom 
I  met,  especially  in  the  Established  Church,  repro- 
bated George  Thompson's  mission  to  this  country, 
as  an  outrage  upon  decorum,  and  as  likely  to  be 
productive  of  nothing  but  mischief.  He  expressed 
the  opinion  that  nothing  but  immediate  emancipa- 
tion would  have  done  for  Great  Britain,  though  he 
confessed  he  trembled  when  the  crisis  came  ;  but  he 
thought  the  state  of  the  case  in  America  was  so 
very  different,  as  manifestly  to  require  that  a  differ- 
ent course  should  be  pursued.  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  hearing  Dr.  Gordon  preach.  It  was  in  the  High 
church  in  Edinburgh — the  same  in  which  Dr.  Blair, 
Principal  Robertson,  Robert  Walker,  and  many  other 
distinguished  men,  had  officiated  before  him.  It  was 
on  the  evening  of  a  Communion  Sabbath,  and  the 
service  had  special  reference  to  the  peculiar  solemni- 
ties of  the  day.  The  audience  was  very  large,  the 
old  church  being  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
Directly  in  front  of  the  pulpit  sat  two  or  three 
clergymen,  the  most  noticeable  of  whom  was  Prin- 
cipal Baird,  a  venerable,  but  heavy-looking  man — 
heavy  both  in  his  body,  and  in  the  expression  of 
his  countenance,  and  showing,  by  his  whole  appear- 
ance, that  his  race  was  nearly  run.  He  had  the 
reputation  of  being  a  sensible,  worthy  man,  but  I 

12 


266  DR.     GORDON. 

believe  his  ecclesiastical  sympathies  were  pretty  de- 
cidedly with  the  moderates.  Dr.  Gordon's  appear- 
ance, as  he  stood  dressed  in  his  canonicals,  was  un- 
commonly imposing — indeed,  I  have  rarely  seen  a 
more  dignified  form,  or  a  more  impressive  face,  in 
the  pulpit,  than  his.  His  voice  was  uncommonly 
well  adapted  to  public  speaking— full,  melodious, 
every  way  agreeable.  He  looked  like  a  man  of 
God,  who  felt  that  he  was  charged  with  an  im- 
portant message,  and  that  there  was  life  or  death 
in  what  he  had  to  say.  His  discourse  was  on  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus — the  text  was,  "He  is  not 
here  ;  He  is  risen,  as  He  said."  It  was  evidently 
the  result  of  much  elaboration,  and  was  character- 
ized in  a  high  degree  by  abstract  and  profound 
thought ;  though  I  confess  it  seemed  to  me  quite 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  common  mind,  and  not  par- 
ticularly adapted  to  follow  up  the  sacramental  ser- 
vice. I  must  frankly  say,  that  the  sermon,  especially 
as  taken  in  connexion  with  the  occasion,  disap- 
pointed me.  However  able  and  ingenious  it  might 
have  been,  it  was  too  philosophical,  in  my  view,  to 
be  brought  so  near  to  the  Lord's  table.  I  ought 
to  say,  that  my  friend,  who  accompanied  me  to  the 
church,  protested  against  Dr.  Gordon's  being  judged 
as  a  preacher  by  that  effort,  and  assured  me  that, 
among  the  many  sermons  he  had  heard  from  him, 
he  had  never  heard  one  which  approached  so  near 
to  a  failure  as  that.  I  was  told  by  George  Combe, 
the  phrenologist,  that  he  had  it  from  Dr.  Gordon 


DR.    PEDDIE.  267 

himself,  tliat  when  he  was  intensely  engaged  in 
thought,  his  pulse,  instead  of  rising,  would  sink,  and 
his  extremities  become  cold,  so  that  there  were  some- 
times what  might  be  taken  for  symptoms  of  ap- 
proaching death. 

I  had  a  most  agreeable  interview  with  old  DR. 
PEDDIE,  who  was  then  regarded  not  only  as  a  father, 
but  a  patriarch,  in  the  United  Secession  Church. 
He  was  a  fine,  large,  well-built  man,  and  united 
in  his  manners  great  dignity  with  great  simplicity 
and  affability.  He  remembered  Logan,  the  author 
of  the  sermons  which  have  been  so  much  celebrated, 
and  was  familiar  with  the  sad  details  of  his  history — 
he  was  one  of  the  most  gifted  minds,  and  one  of 
the  most  popular  preachers  in  Scotland,  but  finally 
sunk  into  disgrace,  ecclesiastically,  and  died  in  ob- 
scurity. Dr.  Peddie  remembered  Logan's  father  bet- 
ter than  himself;  as  he  used  often  to  see  him  at 
Haddington,  in  the  congregation  of  the  celebrated 
John  Brown,  under  whom  Dr.  Peddie  studied.  He 
spoke  of  John  Brown  with  great  reverence  and  affec- 
tion. He  said  that  he  died  when  he  was  but  little 
more  than  sixty,  and  that  his  constitution  broke 
down  prematurely  under  excessive  labour ;  that,  dur- 
ing the  first  year  of  his  ministry,  besides  preaching 
regularly  on  the  Sabbath,  and  performing  an  im- 
mense amount  of  pastoral  duty,  he  read  through  a 
Universal  History,  consisting  of  twenty  large  vol- 
umes, and  reduced  them  to  six  volumes  of  manu- 


268  DR.    PEDDIE. 

script.  He  stated  that  his  manner  in  the  pulpit  was 
extremely  awkward ;  but  that  his  matter  was  so  in- 
teresting that  his  awkwardness  was  easily  overlooked. 
His  sons,  it  seems,  though  they  all  became  eminently 
useful  men,  and  nearly  all  of  them  distinguished 
clergymen,  were,  in  their  youth,  not  particularly 
noted  for  gravity.  On  one  occasion,  one  of  them, 
knowing  that  his  mother  had  made  a  chicken-pie 
for  dinner,  when  she  expected  some  company  to  dine 
with  them,  carefully  took  out  the  inside  of  the  pie, 
and  substituted  grass  in  its  place.  When  the  pie 
came  to  be  brought  upon  the  table,  his  mother,  on 
cutting  it,  discovered  the  trick  that  had  been  played  ; 
and,  as  she  cast  an  indignant  look  at  the  son  whom 
she  suspected  of  the  roguery — "  0,"  said  he,  "  mother, 
that 's  according  to  Scripture  ;  we  read  that  '  all  flesh 
is  as  grass/'  Dr.  Peddie  kindly  asked  me  to  come 
and  pass  some  time  with  him ;  and  the  brief  inter- 
view with  him  that  I  had,  increased  my  regret  at 
not  being  able  to  accept  his  obliging  invitation. 


XXXVIII. 

(BURNS'  FRIENDS.) 


TT  happened  that  one  of  the  first  persons  with  whom 
I  became  acquainted  in  Edinburgh  was  ROBERT 
AINSLEE,  a  barrister,  of  between  seventy  and  eighty 
years  of  age,  who  was  the  author  of  a  highly  respect- 
able religious  work,  entitled  "Reasons  of  the  Hope 
that  is  in  us."  He  had  been  one  of  Burns'  most  in- 
timate friends,  and  was  one  of  the  very  few  who  then 
survived.  He  was  a  man"  of  very  considerable  in- 
telligence>  and  of  great  good  nature,  though  perhaps 
his  highest  attraction  consisted  in  his  being  a  relic 
of  another  generation,  and  especially  a  friend  and 
favourite  of  Burns.  From  my  first  introduction  to 
him,  he  manifested  a  disposition  to  show  me  every 
kindness,  and  during  my  whole  stay  in  Edinburgh 


270  BOBEET    AINSLEE. 

he  lost  no  opportunity  of  contributing  to  my  grati- 
fication. 

The  most  remarkable  thing  that  I  heard  about 
the  old  gentleman  had  respect  to  his  matrimonial 
history.  It  seemed  that  he  had  been  twice  married, 
and,  in  the  first  case  particularly,  there  had  been  a 
touch  of  the  romantic.  The  circumstances  of  the 
first  marriage,  as  they  were  communicated  to  me, 
were  these  :  As  the  young  lady  whom  he  ultimately 
married  was  going  into  the  country  under  the  care 
of  a  married  man,  the  individual  who  accompanied 
her  fell  so  desperately  in  love  with  her  that  he  pro- 
posed to  her  an  elopement,  even  at  the  expense  of 
leaving  his  own  family.  The  girl  was  frightened  out 
of  her  wits,  and  immediately  wrote  home  to  Edin- 
burgh an  account  of  what  had  occurred.  Mr.  Ainslee 
was  sent  out  by  her  father  to  take  charge  of  her, 
and  he,  too,  became  fascinated  by  her  charms,  and 
forthwith  offered  himself  to  her,  and  was  accepted ; 
upon  which,  before  Mr.  Ainslee  had  left  the  house, 
the  guilty  lover,  in  accordance  with  a  threat  which 
he  had  previously  made,  blew  out  his  own  brains. 

Mr.  Ainslee  was  full  of  anecdotes  concerning  Burns, 
and,  though  he  evidently  cherished  his  memory  with 
great  affection,  he  showed  that  he  was  fully  sensible 
of  his  manifold  infirmities  and  errors,  while  yet  he 
thought  great  allowance  was  to  be  made  for  him 
in  consideration  of  the  circumstances  in  which  he 
was  placed,  and  the  period  at  which  he  lived.  He 
told  me  that,  at  one  time,  he  had  not  less  than  fifty 


ROBERT    AINSLEE.  271 

of  Burns'  letters  addressed  to  himself;  but  that,  on 
a  certain  occasion,  he  had  a  large  number  of  gentle- 
men supping  with  him,  and  he  gave  each  of  them 
one  of  these  letters  as  a  memorial ;  and  to  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  who  was  one  of  the  party,  he  gave  the 
original,  with  Burns'  corrections,  of  Tarn  O'Shanter, 
which  Sir  Walter  afterwards  got  elegantly  bound. 
One  of  his  friends  told  me  that,  while  he  was,  for 
the  most  part,  proud  of  his  intimacy  with  Burns,  he 
did  not  like  to  be  associated  with  him  in  his  feats 
of  dissipation ;  and  that,  not  long  before,  he  was 
present  at  a  dinner  party,  where  some  one  jocosely 
drank  the  health  of  Mr.  Ainslee,  speaking  of  him  as 
"the  friend  of  Burns,  and  his  companion  at  the 
bottle ;"  and  the  old  gentleman,  instead  of  treating 
it  as  a  joke,  resented  it  as  a  high  insult. 

Mr.  Ainslee  had  been  associated  with  many  other 
men  of  distinguished  name,  beside  Burns.  He  knew 
well  Dr.  Blair,  Principal  Kobertson,  Dr.  Ferguson, 
and  many  others  of  the  same  school,  and  had  treas- 
ured many  interesting  anecdotes  illustrative  of  their 
characters.  He  gave  me  the  history  of  his  own  fam- 
ily, some  parts  of  which  were  very  affecting.  Out 
of  eleven  children  he  had  only  two  left ;  and  three 
of  them,  who  were  considerably  advanced,  were  cut 
off  in  a  month.  But  he  seemed  to  recognize  the  hand 
of  Providence  in  his  afflictions,  and  expressed  the 
hope  that  they  had  served  to  increase  both  his  spiritu- 
ality and  his  usefulness.  He  was  a  member  of  Dr. 
(now  Principal)  Lee's  church ;  but,  I  take  it)  that 


272  MES.    M'LEHOSE. 

he  belonged  decidedly  to  the  moderate  party.  His 
book,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  shows  a  well- 
disciplined  mind,  and  much  well-matured  thought 
upon  the  evidences  of  Christianity. 

He  expressed  a  wish  to  introduce  to  me  another 
of  Burns'  friends,  and  a  lady  of  no  small  celebrity 
in  her  way,  whose  name  had  sometimes — though  un- 
justly, he  said — been  coupled  with  that  of  Burns  in 
the  way  of  reproach.  It  was  no  other  than  Mrs. 
M'LEHOSE,  known  as  Burns'  "CLARINDA."  She  was 
then  seventy-six  years  old,  and  lived  nearly  at  the 
top  of  Calton  Hill.  I  was  the  more  disposed  to  ac- 
cept of  Mr.  Ainslee's  kind  offer  to  introduce  me  to 
her,  as  I  ascertained  that  she  was  the  grand-daughter 
of  the  celebrated  Maclaurin  of  Glasgow,  who  wrote 
the  famous  sermon  on  "  Glorying  in  the  Cross." 
Accordingly  we  set  out  one  morning,  and,  after  a 
long  walk,  and  a  very  steep  ascent,  reached  the  dwell- 
ing of  Mrs.  M'Lehose.  We  found  her  living  in  a 
very  plain  way,  possessing  her  faculties  in  a  good 
degree  of  vigour,  and  talking  such  intolerably  broad 
Scotch  that  I  could  often  only  conjecture  what  she 
had  said.  She  had  been  a  fine-looking  woman,  and 
still  carried  with  her  a  good  deal  of  faded  beauty. 
I  very  soon  began  to  make  inquiries  about  her  grand- 
father ;  but  found  that  it  was  to  little  purpose,  as 
he  had  died  a  year  or  two  before  she  was  born ; 
and  her  mother  had  died  when  she  herself  was  so 
young  that  she  did  not  remember  ever  to  have  heard 
her  speak  of  him.  Much  as  she  venerated  his  mem- 


MES.    M'LEHOSE.  273 

ory,  slie  said  that  she  had  no  memorial  of  him 
except  his  printed  sermons ;  and  she  was  not 
aware  that  there  was  anything  else  in  existence. 
When  she  spoke  of  her  mother  she  wept,  and  said 
that  her  highest  recommendation  was  that  she  was 
an  eminently  godly  woman. 

There  was  hanging  in  her  room  an  original  portrait 
of  Burns,  which  was  considered  one  of  the  best,  if 
not  the  very  best,  that  had  ever  been  taken.  It  was 
indeed  an  exquisite  picture.  She  and  Mr.  Ainslee 
both  looked  at  it,  and  talked  about  the  original  with 
considerable  apparent  emotion.  They  seemed  to  be 
reminded  by  the  long  period  which  had  elapsed  since 
his  death  that  the  grave  would  soon  be  ready  for 
them.  The  old  lady  made  some  very  serious  remarks, 
and  I  was  glad  to  learn,  from  an  unquestionable 
source,  that  her  affections  centered  much  upon  ob- 
jects and  interests  beyond  this  world. 

I  learned  from  Mr.  Ainslee  that  Mrs.  M'Lehose  had 
a  fine  poetical  taste,  and  had  written  some  things 
of  a  high  order.  By  his  request  she  attempted  to 
repeat  some  verses  which  she  had  composed  on  the 
anniversary  of  his  marriage  ;  and,  as  they  did  not 
readily  come  to  her  remembrance,  she  got  a  manu- 
script volume,  and  read  them  to  us ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  read  another  beautiful  piece,  entitled  "  The 
Linnet" — the  first  that  she  ever  wrote.  She  said 
that  she  was  sitting  under  a  tree,  and  a  linnet  came 
singing  around  her,  and  a  sort  of  flash  of  inspiration 
came  over  her,  by  which  she  made  the  verses  referred 

12* 


274  MRS.    SMTTHE. 

to  with  perfect  ease.  I  asked  her,  as  a  particular 
favour,  to  transcribe  them  for  me ;  and  before  I 
left  Edinburgh  I  had  a  fair  copy  of  them  written 
with  her  own  trembling  hand.  She  requested  me 
to  give  her  my  name  and  residence  on  a  piece  of 
paper,  to  be  transferred  to  her  memorandum-book. 
She  had  one  son,  an  only  child,  who  lived  in  her 
immediate  neighbourhood.  I  understood  that  it  was 
intended  that  a  volume  of  her  poems  should  be 
published  after  her  death ;  but  whether  the  purpose 
has  ever  been  carried  out,  I  do  not  know. 

The  other  of  Burns'  friends,  to  whom  I  had  the 
honour  of  an  introduction,  was  Mrs.  SMYTHE,  of  Meth- 
ven.  I  do  not  know  her  name  before  marriage,  but 
she  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  beauties  in 
Scotland,  and  drew  from  Burns,  who  knew  her  in- 
timately, I  believe  more  than  one  poetical  effusion 
in  honour  of  her  superior  attractions.  She  must 
have  been  then  verging  towards  seventy,  but  the 
rose  upon  her  cheek  had  scarcely  begun  to  fade. 
She  had  much  more  to  recommend  her  than  her 
personal  beauty,  or  the  fact  of  her  having  attracted 
the  attention  of  Burns — she  was  a  highly  intelligent 
and  devout  Christian.  Though  her  circumstances 
had  carried  her  into  the  highest  circles  of  society, 
and  had  made  her  familiar  with  fashionable  life,  she 
lived  habitually  in  the  fear  of  God — lived  "  as  seeing 
Him  who  is  invisible."  I  dined  at  her  house,  where 
I  met  several  gentlemen  of  the  highest  respectability. 


MRS.    SMYTHE.  275 

These  three  friends  of  Burns  have  since  all  passed 
away.  Though  they  survived  many  years  their  illus- 
trious but  erratic  and  unfortunate  friend,  to  whose 
name  chiefly  they  owed  their  celebrity,  they  have  at 
last  followed  him  into  the  world  unseen.  I  am  not 
sure  whether  any  of  the  living  witnesses  to  his 
strange  career,  especially  any  who  were  on  terms 
of  intimacy  with  him,  still  survive. 


XXXIX. 


AND 


T  DID  not  meet  Dr.  ABEKCROMBIE  quite  as  a 
-*-  stranger ;  for  I  had  exchanged  a  letter  or  two 
with  him,  and  had  received  an  act  of  kindness  from 
him,  previous  to  my  going  to  Edinburgh.  But  I  did 
not  know,  after  all,  what  sort  of  a  man  I  should 
find.  I  knew,  indeed,  that  he  was  a  great  man, 
and  a  good  man ;  but  whether  his  greatness  or  his 
goodness  was  to  be  the  more  apparent — whether  I 
was  to  be  more  impressed  by  the  philosopher, 
or  the  Christian,  or  the  friend,  I  had  no  means 
of  forming  a  conjecture. 

Well,  I  found  in  him  a  beautiful  sample  of  sim- 
plicity, humility,  and  true  dignity.  In  his  person 
he  was  rather  short  and  thick  ;  was  perfectly  bland 
and  courteous  in  his  manners  ;  had  a  countenance 
indicating  great  thoughtfulness,  and  yet  expressive 
of  an  exuberance  of  generous  feeling.  He  made 


DR.    ABERCROMBIE.  277 

me  feel  at  home  the  moment  that  I  had  shaken  hands 
with  him.  He  had  lost  his  wife  not  long  before — a 
lady  of  the  rarest  intellectual  and  moral  qualities, 
and  the  family  were  still  in  mourning  for  her.  He 
had  seven  daughters,  all  unmarried,  and  all  at 
home  ;  ranging  from  perhaps  five  or  six  to  one  or 
two-and-twenty  years  of  age ;  and  I  may  venture 
to  say,  on  this  side  the  water,  that  I  have  never 
seen  a  greater  amount  of  female  loveliness  in  any 
family.  One  of  them  has  since  been  married,  and 
death  has  made  one  or  two  inroads  upon  the  circle  ; 
but  several  of  them  still  remain,  and  until  very 
lately  they  have  been  occupants  of  the  same  dwell- 
ing in  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  them. 

I  saw  Dr.  Abercrombie,  during  my  brief  stay  in 
Edinburgh,  several  times,  both  at  his  own  house, 
and  in  social  circles  to  which  I  was  invited.  I 
always  found  him  unassuming,  affable,  and  com- 
municative. On  one  occasion  he  talked  a  good  deal 
about  Edward  Irving.  He  seemed  to  have  watched 
his  career  with  no  small  degree  of  interest  from 
early  life  ;  and  though  he  feared  that  he  had,  to  some 
extent,  acted  a  part,  yet  he  also  believed  that  he 
was  constitutionally  unlike  other  people,  and  that 
we  ought  charitably  to  impute  to  this  a  large  part 
of  the  strange  things  with  which  he  was  chargeable. 
Dr.  Abercrombie  knew  him,  or  knew  of  him,  as  a 
school-master,  and  while  he  was  a  young  man  ;  and 
he  was  said  to  have  practised  extreme  severity 
towards  his  pupils,  and,  in  one  instance,  to  have 


278  DR.    ALISON. 

nearly  pulled  off  a  child's  ear.  The  Doctor  pre- 
sented me  with  several  of  his  own  works,  and  among 
others  was  a  small  one  of  a  religious  character,  which 
had  then  passed  through  five  editions,  and  in  respect 
to  which,  he  said,  he  could  state  a  very  remarkable 
fact — namely,  that  it  had  been  much  praised  by 
Presbyterians,  Episcopalians,  Eoman  Catholics,  and 
Quakers.  When  I  expressed  some  surprise  that  he 
could  have  written  so  extensively  for  the  press,  and 
upon  subjects  not  immediately  connected  with  his 
profession,  he  told  me  that  nearly  all  his  books  had 
been  written  as  he  was  riding  in  his  carriage  ;  and 
that,  from  long  habit,  he  could  think  to  much  bet- 
ter advantage  in  his  carriage  than  any  where  else. 
He  asked  me  if  I  knew  who  was  the  writer  of 
various  articles  in  the  New  York  Observer,  signed 
"  M.  S."  I  told  him  that  it  was  a  particular  friend 
of  mine — the  late  Dr.  Kevins,  of  Baltimore.  He 
replied  that  he  had  been  quite  delighted  with  the 
articles,  and  he  doubted  whether  there  was  a  more 
gifted  or  attractive  writer  then  on  the  stage.  No- 
thing could  exceed  the  kindness  with  which  he 
treated  me  while  I  remained  in  Edinburgh,  or  the 
affectionate  manner  in  which  he  took  leave  of  me. 
I  received  several  letters  from  him  after  my  return, 
and  I  still  think  of  him  as  one  of  the  choicest 
specimens  of  humanity. 


I  had  a  letter  to   Dr.   ALISON  from  Miss   Edge 
worth,   that  introduced    me    into    one  of   the  most 


DE.    ALISON.  279 

cultivated  and  agreeable  circles  in  Edinburgh.  Dr. 
Alison  is  the  son  of  the  celebrated  Episcopal  clergy- 
man, who  is  the  author  of  the  work  on  "  Taste,"  and 
also  of  a  volume  of  sermons  on  the  "  Seasons,"  and 
other  kindred  subjects,  which  used  to  be  in  great  re- 
pute as  a  specimen  of  beautiful  writing.  I  was  much 
in  hopes  of  being  able  to  see  the  old  gentleman  ;  but 
he  was  too  infirm  to  see  any  body,  though  he  sent  me 
a  kind  message,  and  his  daughter  gave  me  an  en- 
graving of  him,  which  was  said  to  be  a  very  per- 
fect likeness.  Dr.  Alison  is  the  brother  of  the  cele- 
brated historian,  and  was — and,  I  suppose,  still  is — 
I  a  Professor  in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Uni- 
versity  of  Edinburgh.  He  is  truly  a  splendid  man — 
splendid  in  his  person,  his  manners,  and  his  intel- 
lect. Though  he  was  perfectly  accessible,  there  was 
a  sort  of  natural  nobility  about  him,  that  could 
scarcely  fail  to  command  both  respect  and  admira- 
tion. His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  the  late  Dr. 
James  Gregory,  one  of  the  greatest  medical  lights 
of  Scotland,  and  the  grand-daughter  of  another 
Dr.  Gregory,  who  wrote  the  famous  "Legacy  to  a 
Daughter."  Mrs.  Alison  joined  to  the  finest  talents 
and  accomplishments,  the  most  gentle  and  benevo- 
lent spirit,  and  was  equally  admired  and  loved  by 
all  who  knew  her.  After  the  death  of  her  father- 
in-law,  the  Kev.  A.  Alison,  she  wrote  me  a  long 
and  beautiful  letter,  giving  me  a  minute  account 
of  his  latter  days,  and  representing  to  me  with  great 
vividness  the  uncommon  grace  and  loveliness  of  his 


280  DR.    ALISON. 

character.      Within    the   last  year  or  two,   she  has 
closed  her  own  earthly  career. 

I  met  a  delightful  party  at  Dr.  Alison's  at  break- 
fast. Besides  several  very  agreeable  ladies,  there 
was  Sir  David  Brewster,  to  whom  I  shall  refer  more 
particularly  hereafter  ;  Sir  William  Hamilton — short, 
rather  thick,  of  a  dark  complexion,  and  fine  eye,  a 
little  retiring  in  his  manner,  but  very  sociable  when 
he  becomes  engaged  in  conversation ;  the  Kev.  J. 
Sinclair,  an  Episcopal  clergyman — a  son  of  the  late 
Sir  John  Sinclair,  and  brother  of  the  celebrated 
authoress — of  gentlemanly  manners,  and  cultivated 
mind ;  Leonard  Horner,  a  man  of  a  remarkably  fine 
intellect,  and  brother  to  the  late  Francis  Horner, 
who  died  young,  but  not  till  he  had  attained  great 
eminence ;  and  Professor  Pillans,  a  most  agreeable 
and  interesting  person,  from  whom  I  received  great 
kindness.  After  we  had  despatched  George  Thomp- 
son and  the  slavery  question,  (and  I  still  found  my- 
self among  reasonable  people,)  Dr.  Alison  and  some 
other  of  the  gentlemen  made  particular  inquiries 
in  respect  to  our  colleges,  and  especially  in  regard 
to  the  manner  of  conferring  degrees  ;  and  I  shrewdly 
suspected  that,  if  they  had  spoken  out  all  that  was 
in  their  minds,  they  would  have  adverted  to  the 
fact,  that  we  were  too  disinterested  to  keep  all  our 
honours  at  home.  There  was  quite  a  vigorous  dis- 
cussion at  the  breakfast-table  on  the  subject  of 
quack  medicines,  as  they  exist  in  the  United  States, 
and  particularly  of  Morrison's  pills ;  and  Mr.  Horner 


DR.    ALISON.  281 


expressed  the  opinion,  that  there  should  be  a  direct 
interference  of  the  Legislature  in  reference  to  it, 
while  Dr.  Alison  doubted  its  practicability.  Sir 
William  Hamilton  had  many  inquiries  to  make  con- 
cerning Professor  Stuart,  with  whose  character  and 
writings  he  seemed  to  be  well  acquainted ;  and  ex- 
pressed the  opinion,  that  the  system  of  doctrine  which 
he  had  put  forth  in  his  Commentaries  was  certainly 
not  more  than  a  modified  form  of  Calvinism.  I  in- 
ferred, however,  from  what  he  said,  that  he  was  by 
no  means  wanting  in  respect  for  Professor  Stuart's 
talents  and  attainments. 

The  Alison  family,  like  the  family  of  Dr.  Aber- 
crombie,  was  apparently  a  perfect  specimen  of  taste, 
and  dignity,  and  refinement.  They  had  many  curi- 
osities to  exhibit,  and,  among  them,  one  or  two  very 
curious  letters  of  Kobert  Burns,  addressed  to  their 
father,  the  Kev.  Mr.  Alison.  I  think  of  them  most 

. 

gratefully  as  they  were  ;  but  if  I  should  return  to 
Edinburgh  now,  I  should  find  that  sad  changes  had 
come  over  them. 


XL 


T  HAD  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Lord  JEFFREY, 
from  Mrs.  Opie,  and  I  found  that  I  could  not 
have  visited  him  under  better  auspices.  I  had  heard, 
upon  what  I  supposed  was  good  authority,  that  he 
had  no  great  partiality  for  Americans,  and  was  some- 
times even  lacking  in  courtesy  towards  them  ;  and 
hence  I  should  not  have  been  disappointed,  if,  even 
with  Mrs.  Opie's  letter,  I  had  not  realized  the  most 
cordial  reception.  However,  I  could  scarcely  have 
been  received  by  anybody  with  greater  kindness. 
He  met  me  with  such  a  free  and  whole-souled  air, 
that  I  almost  felt  as  if  he  might  have  mistaken  me 
for  some  person  whom  he  had  seen  before.  This, 
however,  was  not  the  case ;  and  I  could  only  ac- 


LOKD     JEFFREY.  283 

count  for  his  very  gracious  manner  by  supposing 
that  his  regard  for  Mrs.  Opie  had  predisposed  him 
to  be  kind  towards  anybody  whom  she  might  intro- 
duce to  him. 

Jeffrey  was  a  small  man,  of  an  uncommonly  lively 
expression  of  countenance,  and  extremely  rapid  in  his 
movements,  and  fluent  in  his  conversation.  He  was,  at 
that  time,  I  understood/a  little  turned  of  sixty,  but  he 
might  easily  have  been  mistaken  for  a  much  younger 
man.  I  was  exceedingly  struck  with  his  graceful 
and  admirable  speaking  of  English — it  was  so  per- 
fect, so  entirely  free  from  any  distinctive  accent,  that 
I  could  not  even  have  guessed  where  he  had  been 
born  or  educated ;  though  he  was  really  a  native 
of  Scotland,  and  received  his  education  at  one  of 
the  English  Universities. 

I  was  scarcely  seated  with  him  before  we  were  talk- 
ing about  slavery,  a  subject  which,  by  that  time,  had 
become  absolutely  loathsome  to  me,  having  had  to 
discuss,  or  rather  to  expound  it,  morning,  noon,  and 
night,  for  several  weeks.  However,  I  had  no  fault  to 
find  with  Lord  Jeffrey  in  relation  to  it,  as  his  views 
were  most  enlightened  and  liberal.  He  referred  to 
an  article  which  had  then  recently  appeared  in  the 
Edinburgh  Keview,  which  he  thought  was  very  sound 
and  sober.  He  expressed  the  confident  conviction 
that  the  blacks  are  inferior  to  the  whites  in  original 
powers  ;  and  he  said  he  had  come  to  that  conclusion 
from  the  fact,  that  under  every  variety  of  circum- 
stances in  which  they  had  been  placed,  both  in  an- 


284  LORD    JEFFREY. 

cient   and  modern   times,  their  inferiority  had  been 
apparent. 

I  accepted  an  invitation  to  dine  with  Lord  Jeffrey, 
and  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  at  dinner  several 
very  interesting  persons,  among  whom  was  Lord 
Moncrieff,  son  of  the  late  Sir  Harry  Moncrieff  Well- 
wood,  who  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished clergymen  of  Edinburgh.  He  was  a  most 
gentlemanly  man,  of  a  fine,  open  countenance,  and 
very  entertaining  in  conversation.  Mrs.  Jeffrey,  with 
whom  I  now  became  acquainted,  was  an  American 
lady — Miss  Wilkes,  of  New  York — and  seemed  a  very 
plain,  sensible,  benevolent  woman.  As  Mrs.  Opie 
and  her  Quakerism  happened  to  be  spoken  of  in  the 
course  of  the  conversation,  the  Quaker  language, 
and  especially  the  frequent  use  of  thee  as  the  nom- 
inative instead  of  thou,  became  the  topic  for  a  few 
moments.  Lord  Jeffrey  accounted  for  it  on  the  same 
principle  that  he  accounted^  for  the  fact  that  chil- 
dren are  so  much  inclined  to  put  me  for  I — that  is, 
that  the  personal  pronoun  is  so  much  more  frequently 
used  in  government  than  in  any  other  way.  He 
expressed  a  very  high  opinion  of  the  character  and 
talents  of  Chancellor  Kent,  and  a  very  low  opinion 
of  the  wisdom  that  had  ordained  that  the  chancel- 
lors and  judges  in  the  State  of  New  York  should 
leave  their  office  at  the  age  of  sixty ;  and  he  added 
that  it  was  not  uncommon  there  for  judges  to  be 
appointed  after  that  age.  At  the  dinner-table,  whis- 
key was  not  only  used  as  a  drink  after  the  common 


SIB    DAVID    BREWSTER.  285 

mode,  but  discussed  as  a  topic ;  and  the  opinion 
was  expressed  that  the  use  of  it  was  increasing 
rather  than  diminishing  in  Scotland.  Jeffrey  spoke 
of  the  horrors  of  the  whiskey-houses  in  London ; 
and  mentioned  that  they  had  pretty  little  glasses, 
on  a  counter  just  high  enough  for  young  children 
to  reach,  and  everything  necessary  to  attract  the 
little  creatures  into  these  haunts  of  moral  death. 
I  confess  my  temperance  principles  got  to  work 
pretty  vigorously,  and  I  could  not  but  query  with 
myself,  even  in  the  presence  of  the  whiskey-bottle, 
whether  it  might  not  be  a  good  service  rendered 
to  humanity,  to  discard  altogether  the  use  of  what 
was  evidently  producing  so  much  misery. 

I  was  introduced  to  Sir  DAVID  BREWSTEB,  well 
known  as  one  of  the  most  scientific  men  of  the 
age-,  by  Dr.  Lee,  at  the  breaking  up  of  the  meeting 
of  the  Koyal  Society.  The  residence  of  Sir  David 
was  in  the  Highlands,  and  I  understood  that  it  was 
a  rare  thing  that  he  visited  Edinburgh ;  but,  for- 
tunately for  me,  he  happened  to  be  there  at  that 
time.  He  was  of  about  the  middle  height,  but  a 
little  inclined  to  be  stout,  and  had  a  face  in  which 
benignity  and  intelligence  were  delightfully  blended. 
His  manners  were  as  simple  as  childhood  itself, 
while  yet  they  had  all  the  grace  and  polish  that 
one  looks  for  in  the  most  refined  society.  We  had 
just  been  listening  to  the  paper  (referred  to  in  a 
former  number)  on  the  siege  of  Syracuse  ;  and  almost 


286  SIK    DAVID    BKEWSTEE. 

the  first  thing  that  Sir  David  said  to  me  was,  that 
he  hoped  I  understood  Greek  better  than  he  did ; 
for  if  I  did  not,  he  was  sure  that  I  must  have  found 
the  paper  very  unedifying. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Sir  David  several 
times  after  this,  and,  at  each  successive  interview, 
I  became  more  deeply  impressed  by  his  admirable 
qualities.  I  was  gratified  to  find,  what  I  had  not 
known  before,  that  he  possessed  a  very  decided 
Christian  character — indeed,  he  was  a  licentiate  in 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  had  formerly  exercised 
his  functions  as  a  preacher ;  but  for  twenty  years 
had  been  so  excessively  nervous,  that  he  not  only 
could  not  preach,  but  could  not  read  one  of  his 
own  papers  before  the  Royal  Society.  He  had  been 
reading,  not  long  before,  some  of  the  writings  of 
Jacob  Abbott ;  and  he  inquired  with  great  interest 
concerning  him,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  he 
knew  not  a  more  attractive  writer.  He  inquired 
whether  there  was  any  poetry  in  the  account  which 
he  had  given  of  the  revival  in  Amherst  College ; 
and  when  I  told  him  that  I  supposed  not,  he  said 
it  was  indeed  a  most  remarkable  work,  and  asked 
if  such  scenes  as  he  had  described  were  common 
in  America ;  and  his  inquiries  were  evidently  dic- 
tated, not  merely  by  a  spirit  of  curiosity,  but  by 
a  deep  religious  interest  in  the  subject.  I  met  him 
one  morning  at  breakfast  with  several  other  gen- 
tlemen, when  the  conversation  turned  upon  the 
choice  of  a  new  Professor  of  Logic  in  the  Univer- 


SIB    DAVID    BKEWSTEE.  287 

sity  of  Edinburgh ;  and  one  of  the  gentlemen  pre- 
sent alluded  to  the  fact  that  there  had  been  some 
attempts  made  to  secure  the  election  of  the  author 
of  the  History  of  Natural  Enthusiasm,  and  several 
other  works,  the  authorship  of  which  had  not  then 
been  avowed.  All,  however,  agreed  that  this  was 
preposterous,  as  the  writer  had  evidently  been  much 
secluded  from  society,  and  would,  on  that  account, 
be  quite  unfit  for  the  place.  Sir  David  suggested 
that  it  might  turn  out,  if  they  were  to  choose  him 
in  the  dark,  that  they  had  chosen  a  woman  ;  and 
he  thought  the  best  way  would  be  to  strip  off  his 
mask,  and  let  him  run  awhile  in  broad  daylight 
before  they  should  take  any  decisive  measures  to- 
wards the  appointment.  When  it  was  suggested 
that  the  author  of  the  mysterious  publications  was 
the  brother  of  the  Misses  Taylor,  who  had  written 
so  much  and  so  well,  Sir  David  said  that  he  pre- 
sumed then  that  the  books  were  written  by  his  sis- 
ters, so  that  he  was  not  so  much  out  of  the  way  in 
what  he  had  said  about  .the  woman.  He,  however, 
maintained  that  the  books,  whoever  might  have  writ- 
ten them,  were  far  from  sustaining  any  claim  on  the 
part  of  the  author  to  the  Logic  chair ;  for  he  said 
they  were  to  him  almost  unintelligible — he  had 
honestly  tried  to  read  them,  and  to  find  out  the 
author's  meaning,  but  had  absolutely  given  up  in 
despair.  There  was  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  real  author  of  the  works,  some  having  heard 
them  attributed  to  John  Foster,  and  others  to  An- 


288  PROFESSOR    WILSON. 

drew  Eeed ;  but  the  more  common  opinion  was  that 
they  were  the  productions  of  Isaac  Taylor.  Sir  David 
spoke  most  respectfully  of  Professor  Silliman,  whom 
I  think  he  had  never  seen  but  once,  though  he  knew 
him  by  correspondence,  and  regarded  his  Journal  of 
Science  as  decidedly  one  of  the  ablest  scientific  pub- 
lications of  the  day.  Sir  David  Brewster  married 
the  daughter  of  the  celebrated  Macpherson,  who  com- 
piled, edited,  or,  for  aught  I  know,  composed,  the 
poems  of  Ossian. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  passing  an  evening  with 
Professor  WILSON,  and  as  I  was  introduced  by  Mrs. 
Grant,  for  whom  he  had  the  highest  veneration,  I 
could  not  have  asked  for  a  more  hearty  welcome  than 
I  received  from  him.  He  was  then  in  his  full  vigour, 
though  he  happened  that  evening  to  be  labouring 
under  some  slight  indisposition — perhaps  the  head- 
ache. He  was  somewhat  above  the  middle  stature, 
had  a  strongly-marked  face,  and  talked  on  every 
subject  that  came  up  with  rapidity  and  point.  He 
treated  the  ultra  anti-slavery  men  with  very  little 
ceremony,  and  condemned  unsparingly  the  rash  meas- 
ures they  were  trying  to  carry.  He  seemed  familiar 
with  the  prominent  literary  men  in  this  country, 
and  had  a  definite  and  well-matured  opinion  in  re- 
spect to  many  of  them.  Washington  Irving  he 
considered  as  quite  a  model  of  good  taste.  Cooper, 
he  said,  had  far  more  genius  than  taste,  and  he 
dashed  along,  mixing  up  the  good  and  the  bad  to- 


PROFESSOR     WILSON.  289 

gether,  at  a  strange  rate.  He  seemed  a  remarkably 
whole-souled,  genial  sort  of  a  man,  though  if  I  had 
been  set  to  guess  what  was  his  professorship,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  I  should  have  hit  upon  moral  phi- 
losophy. 

I  cannot,  in  justice  to  my  own  feelings,  close  my 
reminiscences  of  the  great  and  good  people  whom  I 
saw  at  Edinburgh,  without  mentioning  the  name  of 
Dr.  THOMAS  MURRAY,  whose  guest  I  had  the  honour 
to  be,  and  to  whose  extensive  knowledge,  large  ac- 
quaintance, and  obliging  attentions,  I  was  indebted 
in  no  small  degree  for  the  pleasure  of  my  visit.  He 
had  been  for  many  years  an  eminent  teacher,  and 
was  the  author  of  several  small,  but  very  interesting 
works.  He  had  in  his  possession  the  papers  of  the 
celebrated  Dr.  Murray,  author  of  the  "  History  of  the 
European  Languages ;"  and  he  actually  gave  me  a 
copy  of  that  great  work  in  the  author's  hand-writing, 
which  is  now  in  the  library  of  Harvard  College. 

13 


XLI. 


A  S  I  had  not  only  long  been  familiar  with  Dr. 
•**  DICK'S  works,  but  had  had  the  pleasure  of  a 
correspondence  with  him  for  several  years,  it  was  my 
purpose  to  visit  him  from  the  time  that  I  had  de- 
termined to  go  to  Scotland,  Accordingly,  I  went 
from  Edinburgh  to  Dundee  by  coach,  and  was  there 
met  by  Dr.  Dick's  son-in-law,  who  had  come,  by 
request  of  the  Doctor,  to  take  me  to  Broughty  Ferry, 
distant  about  four  miles. 

Broughty  Ferry  is  a  small  village,  of  very  mean 
appearance,  and  I  should  suppose  that  its  chief  at- 
traction lay  in  the  fact  that  Dr.  Dick  resides  there 
His  dwelling,  however,  was  not  immediately  in  th 
village,  but  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  the  rear 
of  it,  on  a  beautiful  eminence,  which  overlooked  Dun- 
dee and  a  large  tract  of  the  adjacent  country.  As 
we  came  within  sight  of  the  house,  Mr.  M.,  his  son- 
in-law,  told  me  that  the  Doctor  was  upon  the  look- 
out for  us,  and  he  knew  that  we  were  on  the  way, 
for  he  perceived  that  his  window  was  thrown  up  ; 
and  as  we  approached  the  .gate,  he  came  runnin 


J 


DE.    DICK.  291 

out  with,  the  activity  of  a  boy,  and  gave  me  one 
of  the  most  affectionate  greetings  I  ever  had  from 
anybody.  He  immediately  introduced  me  to  Mrs. 
Dick,  and  she  scarcely  fell  behind  her  husband  in 
demonstrations  of  good  will.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  a  celebrated  clergyman,  Dr.  Young,  of  Hawick. 
She  had  been  married  to  Dr.  Dick  but  five  or  six 
years,  but  had  before  been  married  to  a  Mr.  David- 
son, a  famous  lecturer  on  Chemistry,  who,  in  eon- 
sequence  of  an  explosion  that  took  place  in  connec- 
tion with  some  chemical  experiment,  while  he  was 
lecturing  in  Ireland,  was  regarded  as  an  astrologer, 
and  had  measured  out  to  him  by  the  ignorance  and 
superstition  of  the  poor  Irish,  a  pretty  severe  retri- 
bution. Mrs.  Dick  herself  was  muck  engaged  in 
philosophical  pursuits,  and  in  her  appearance  was 
not  unlike  Maria  Edgeworth.  She  Irad,  two  or  three 
years  before,  attempted  to  lift  something  which  was 
an  overmatch  for  her  strength,  and  from  that  time 
had  lost  the  use  of  one  arm  altogether. 

Doctor  Dick's  house  was  a  small,  neat  building, 
and  the  grounds  around  were  laid  out  and  orna- 
mented with  exquisite  taste.  I  found  him  in  per- 
son rather  below  the  middle  size,  though  well  pro- 
portioned, with  a  face  and  manner  well  becoming  a 
"  Christian  Philosopher."  He  had  formerly  been  a 
settled  minister  in  the  United  Secession  Church, 
and  had  very  considerable  popularity  as  a  preacher. 
He  was  subsequently  for,  ten  years  the  teacher  of 
a  school  at  Perth,  but  from  the  time  he  came  to 


292  DE.    DICK. 

Broughty  Ferry,  he  had  been  engaged  exclusively 
in  making  books  and  cultivating  his  grounds  ;  though 
he  occasionally  delivered  scientific  lectures,  and  now 
and  then  preached  for  a  brother  minister  in  the 
neighbourhood.  I  found  his  conversation  marked  by 
very  much  the  same  characteristics  with  his  books. 
Though  he  seemed  to  be  truly  evangelical  in  his 
views,  he  dwelt  more  upon  the  philosophy  of  re- 
ligion, and  especially  the  connexion  of  religion  with 
science,  than  upon  those  generally  admitted  truths 
which  we  are  accustomed  to  identify  with  the  life 
and  power  of  Christianity.  His  heart  was  in  Heaven — 
I  doubt  not  in  more  senses  than  one — his  telescope 
and  observatory  witnessed  to  his  love  of  the  visible 
heavens,  as  truly  as  his  Bible  and  his  closet  could 
have  done  to  the  invisible.  I  know  not  that  he  has 
ever  claimed  the  honour  of  any  new  astronomical 
discoveries  ;  but  he  certainly  deserves  the  honour  of 
giving  additional  attraction  to  the  discoveries  of 
others,  and  of  rendering  them  eminently  subservient 
to  the  interests  of  true  religion.  He  seemed  to  me 
to  possess,  in  a  very  uncommon  degree,  the  spirit  of 
an  enlarged  philanthropy.  He  considered  that  knowl- 
edge is  essentially  diffusive — that  no  man  or  body 
of  men  have  a  right  to  appropriate  it  exclusively ; 
but  that  it  is  a  debt  which  every  one  owes  to  the 
common  humanity,  that  he  should  extend  the  circle 
of  useful  knowledge  as  far  as  he  can,  taking  care,  at 
the  same  time,  that  diffusion  is  not  at  the  expense 
of  thoroughness  and  accuracy. 


DE.     DICK.  293 

Dr.  Dick  seemed  to  be  quite  rich  in  philosophical 
apparatus,  and  in  the  morning,  after  breakfast,  he 
amused  me  by  taking  me  upon  his  observatory,  and 
setting  me  to  look  at  various  objects  through  both 
the  telescope  and  the  microscope.  We  walked  for 
awhile  over  his  grounds,  and  then  ascended  a  hill  a 
little  way  off,  from  which  he  pointed  out  to  me  the 
dwelling  of  Thomas  Erskine,  the  author  of  the  work 
on  Faith,  &c.,  who  was,  just  at  that  time,  as  I  un- 
derstood, rather  a  conspicuous  follower  of  Edward 
Irving.  We  also  walked  into  the  village,  and  on 
our  way  went  to  an  ancient  tower,  now  in  ruins,  the 
origin  of  which  lies  back  beyond  all  tradition. 

Having  spent  the  principal  part  of  the  day  with 
Dr.  Dick,  I  bade  him  and  his  family  farewell  some 
time  in  the  afternoon,  and  took  the  steamboat  for 
Edinburgh,  where  I  arrived  the  same  evening.  It 
was  an  exceedingly  interesting  day  to  me,  and,  after 
the  lapse  of  nearly  nineteen  years,  I  can  bring  the 
venerable  man  and  his  household  before  me  almost 
as  vividly  as  ever. 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  great  regret  with  Dr. 
Dick's  friends,  that  after  he  has  contributed  so 
largely  to  the  benefit  of  his  generation,  and  of  pos- 
terity, he  should  be  subjected,  in  his  old  age,  to  pe- 
cuniary straits  and  embarrassments.  It  is  not  so 
much  philanthropy  as  simple  justice,  that  should  be 
appealed  to  for  his  relief ;  and  if  I  am  correctly  in- 
formed, such  an  appeal  has  already  been  made,  and 
not  without  some  success.  I  regretted  to  notice 


294  DR.    DICK. 

an  application  lately  made  to  the  government  in  his 
behalf,  for  a  pension,  had  failed. 

Some  three  or  four  years  ago,  a  paragraph  went 
the  rounds  of  our  papers,  stating  that  Dr.  Dick  had 
closed  his  mortal  career.  I  owed  him  a  letter  at  that 
time,  which,  of  course,  I  never  expected  to  be  able 
to  pay.  Indeed,  I  should  have  written  a  letter  of 
condolence  to  his  widow,  but  that  the  wife  whom 
I  saw  was  dead,  and  he  had  subsequently  married 
another.  I  had  thought  of  him  only  as  prosecuting 
his  noble  researches  in  brighter  worlds,  when,  after 
many  months,  I  was  assured  by  a  friend  that  Dr.  Dick 
was  still  living,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  usual 
health.  I  wrote  immediately  to  inquire  if  he  was 
really  extant,  and  he  answered  me  at  once  by  a  long 
and  agreeable  letter,  assuring  me  that  he  was  still 
a  dweller  upon  the  earth,  and  that  his  mission  did 
not  yet  seem  to  be  quite  accomplished.  He  must  be 
a  little  more  than  eighty  ;  but  his  handwriting  be- 
trays nothing  of  the  tremulousness  of  old  age. 


XLII. 


A  S  it  was  part  of  my  plan  to  visit  the  North  of 
•^  England,  I  had  taken  a  letter  of  introduction  to 
SOUTHEY,  from  one  of  his  intimate  friends  in  Lon- 
don, and  in  due  time  I  was  fortunate  enough  to 
reach  the  place  of  his  residence,  and  find  him  at 
home.  Indeed,  I  had  taken  the  precaution  to  write 
to  him,  while  I  was  in  Edinburgh,  to  ascertain 
whether  he  would  be  at  home  at  the  time  when  it 
would  be  most  convenient  to  me  to  visit  Keswick ; 
and  had  received  an  affirmative  answer,  together  with 
a  very  kind  wish  expressed  that  I  would  fulfil  my 
purpose. 

Accordingly,  having  passed  the  Sabbath  in  Dur- 
ham, I  went  to  Penrith  by  coach  on  Monday,  and 
the  next  morning,  by  private  conveyance,  to  Keswick, 
distant  eighteen  miles.  The  morning  was  beautiful, 
the  country  romantic,  and  everything  in  connexion 
with  the  ride  as  I  could  have  wished,  except  an 
exceedingly  stupid  boy,  who  was  sent  to  be  my  driver 


296  ROBERT     SOUTHEY. 

and  guide,  and  who  had  scarcely  taken  a  degree  in 
talking  beyond  monosyllables.  We  reached  Keswick 
at  half-past  nine — a  small,  ugly  town,  beautifully 
situated  among  the  hills,  with  a  charming  lake  lying 
directly  before  it.  Having  been  directed  to  Southey's 
residence,  which  was  a  few  minutes'  walk  out  of  the 
village,  I  set  out  to  make  my  way  thither ;  and  on 
inquiring  of  some  person  more  particularly  which  was 
his  dwelling,  I  was  told  that  that  was  Mr.  Southey 
then  passing  into  a  shop  just  before  me.  I  instantly 
followed  him,  and  introduced  myself  by,  referring  to 
his  letter,  which  had  reached  me  at  Edinburgh ; 
and  he  received  me  with  great  simplicity  and  kind- 
ness, and  immediately  took  me  home  with  him.  His 
house  stood  on  ground  considerably  elevated,  was 
surrounded  with  trees  and  shrubbery,  and  the  situa- 
tion, on  the  whole,  was  quite  enchanting.  As  we 
came  up  to  the  door,  he  pointed  to  a  beautiful 
grass-plat  on  the  right,  which  he  said  he  called  his 
"  quarter  deck."  The  man  himself,  who  was  the 
great  object  of  interest  with  me,  was  rather  above 
the  middle  stature  ;  slender  and  graceful  in  his  form  ; 
of  dark  complexion,  and  dark  eyes  ;  with  his  hair 
almost  bushy,  and  pretty  far  advanced  towards  gray ; 
with  a  countenance  generally  sedate,  but  easily  lighted 
up  with  a  smile  ;  and  reminding  me  a  good  deal, 
in  his  general  appearance,  of  my  friend  Mr.  Finley 
Morse,  the  inventor  of  the  telegraph,  though  he  was 
considerably  above  Mr.  Morse's  stature. 

I   found  him   exceedingly  communicative,   and  he 


KOBEKT    SOUTHEY.  297 

volunteered  to  give  me  a  good  deal  of  Ms  personal 
history,  parts  of  which  I  took  care  to  preserve.  He 
informed  me  that  he  was  a  native  of  Bristol,  and 
that  his  father  was  a  linen-draper  there  ;  that  it  was 
his  early  intention  to  have  spent  his  days  in  Por- 
tugal, where  his  uncle  was  chaplain  to  the  British 
factory ;  that  he  had  actually,  at  different  times, 
spent  nearly  two  years  there,  but  that  he  was  dis- 
couraged from  carrying  out  his  original  purpose  to 
reside  there  permanently,  by  the  political  state  of 
things  at  that  period.  At  the  time  I  saw  him  he 
was  sixty-two  years  old,  and  had  occupied  the  spot 
where  he  then  resided  thirty-three  years.  It  was  for- 
merly Wordsworth's  residence,  and  he  was  attracted 
thither  by  coming  to  make  Wordsworth  a  visit.  He 
once  had  the  ophthalmia  for  a  short  time,  but  he 
soon  recovered  from  it,  and  at  the  age  of  sixty-two 
he  could  see  to  read  the  smallest  print,  and  write 
the  smallest  hand,  without  spectacles.  He  remarked 
that  time  had  dealt  very  gently  with  him  ;  and,  as 
an  evidence  of  it,  stated  that  he  could,  with  great 
ease,  walk  from  twenty  to  thirty  miles  a  day ;  and 
that  whenever  he  made  one  of  his  pedestrian  excur- 
sions alone,  he  always  had  his  book  in  hand,  and 
could  easily  walk  at  the  rate  of  three  miles  an  hour, 
and  read  without  interruption.  No  longer  ago  than 
the  week  before,  he  said  that  he  had  scrambled  all 
over  the  adjacent  mountain.  When  I  spoke  of  the 
great  degree  of  seclusion  incident  to  the  place,  he 
said  it  was  fortunate  for  him  that  there  was  so  little 

13* 


298  ROBERT    SOUTHEY. 

good  society  around  him,  as  it  left  him  with  so  much 
the  more  time  to  devote  to  his  books. 

He  gave  me  a  most  touching  account  of  his  do- 
mestic afflictions.  He  had  had  eight  children,  of 
whom  only  four  then  survived.  His  eldest  son,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  ten,  was  a  youth  of  remarkable 
promise,  and  he  said  that  if  it  had  pleased  God  to 
spare  him,  he  would  have  taken  his  place  in  all 
respects  ;  that  he  was  almost  idolatrously  devoted  to 
his  books,  and  the  last  thing  he  did,  so  long  as  he 
could  sit  up  in  his  bed,  was  to  call  for  his  Homer. 
Of  his  surviving  children,  one  was  preparing  for  Ox- 
ford ;  and  of  the  remaining  three,  who  were  daugh- 
ters, one  was  married  to  a  clergyman  of  great  worth, 
and  the  other  two  were  young  ladies  of  fine  accom- 
plishments, whose  acquaintance  I  had  the  pleasure 
to  make.  His  wife,  for  the  two  years  preceding, 
had  been  deranged  ;  and  though  for  some  time  he 
had  confident  hopes  of  her  recovery,  he  had  then 
relinquished  all  hope.  He  supposed  that  the  malady 
might  possibly  have  been  averted  if  he  had  known 
the  danger  in  season,  though  she  passed  very  sud- 
denly from  extreme  depression  to  absolute  madness. 
The  first  evening  after  her  return  from  the  Insane 
Retreat  at  York,  she  sat  down  between  her  daugh- 
ters, and  related  to  them,  with  perfect  correctness, 
everything  that  had  occurred  to  her  during  her  ab- 
sence ;  and  they  all  thought  her  quite  well ;  but  it 
was  only  a  gleam  of  reason  owing  to  the  excitement 
produced  by  her  coming  home.  Her  derangement 


EGBERT    SOUTHEY.  299 

immediately  returned,  and  had  continued  without  any 
decided  abatement  or  interruption ;  though  she  was, 
for  the  most  part,  quiet,  and  always  chose  to  re- 
main in  the  same  place.  Towards  evening  every  day 
she  had  a  short  interval  that  approached  somewhat 
to  the  lucid,  but  never  for  a  moment  had  the  full 
possession  of  her  faculties.  He  spoke  of  the  afflic- 
tion as  sometimes  bringing  a  dreadful  burden  upon 
his  spirits,  but  he  recognized  the  hand  of  Provi- 
dence apparently  with  devout  and  quiet  submission. 

He  had  a  good  deal  to  say  about  distinguished 
characters  on  both  sides  of  the  water ;  and  he  re- 
naarked  that  he  almost  thought  he  knew  more  people 
in  Boston  than  in  any  town  in  England.  The  first 
whom  he  saw  was  Professor  Everett,  whom  he  re- 
membered as  a  very  striking  man,  some  twenty  years 
before.  Since  that,  he  had  seen  Dr.  Channing,  whom, 
from  some  remarks  he  made  to  him,  he  judged  to 
be  an  Arian  in  his  theological  views  ;  Professor  Pal- 
frey, who,  he  said,  was  very  near  being  drowned  in 
coming  to  him  in  the  coach ;  Mrs.  Brooks,  of  Boston, 
whose  poetry  (Bride  of  Sevens)  he  considered  a  work 
of  great  power,  and  destined  to  emerge  from  its 
present  comparative  obscurity ;  Dr.  Dewey,  some  of 
whose  sermons  he  thought  very  beautiful ;  Professor 
Ticknor,  Mr.  Cogswell,  &c.  He  had  never  seen  Buck- 
minster,  but  he  expressed  the  greatest  admiration 
for  his  sermons,  and  seemed  to  wonder  that  it  was 
so  long  before  there  was  a  British  edition  of  them. 
Of  Mrs.  Grant  of  Laggan,  whose  acquaintance  he 


300  EGBERT    SOUTHEY. 

thought  I  was  very  fortunate  in  having  made,  he 
spoke  in  terms  of  no  measured  respect,  and  remarked 
that  her  book,  containing  her  early  recollections  of 
Albany,  was  one  of  the  most  exquisite  things  he 
had  ever  read,  depicting  a  state  of  society  in  the 
highest  degree  interesting.  Campbell,  the  poet,  he 
had  never  seen  but  once  ;  but  he  considered  him 
an  unhappy  man — not  so  much  an  unbeliever  as  a 
miso-Christian.  Tom  Moore  he  had  also  seen  but 
once  ;  and  he  said  that,  so  far  as  he  knew  his  char- 
acter, he  was  amiable  and  harmless  in  his  domestic 
relations,  notwithstanding  all  that  he  had  written 
that  might  lead  one  to  suppose  the  contrary;  that 
he  (Moore)  boasted  not  long  before  at  some  public 
meeting,  that  he  had  now  reached  such  an  age  that 
he  felt  at  perfect  liberty  to  speak  out  his  mind  on 
any  subject ;  "  but,"  said  Southey,  "  when  he  was 
a  young  man,  he  wrote  as  licentiously  as  he  pleased ; 
in  middle  life  he  wrote  as  libellously  as  he  pleased ; 
and  in  the  decline  of  life  he  has  written  as  treason- 
ably as  he  pleased ;  and  I  do  not  see  what  he  wants 
more."  Rogers  and  Bowles,  the  two  oldest  of  the 
British  poets,  he  considered  as  being  very  amiable 
and  excellent  characters.  Scotland,  he  thought,  had 
then  lately  lost  her  most  striking  man  in  Hogg  (the 
Ettrick  Shepherd)  ;  and  when  I  mentioned  that  I  had 
heard  that  Hogg  aped  Burns  in  some  of  his  most 
prominent  characteristics,  he  said  that  he  could 
scarcely  think  it  possible  ;  that  he  once  spent  three 
days  with  him,  (the  only  time  he  ever  saw  him,)  and 


ROBERT    SOUTH  EY.  301 

he  thought  him  then  quite  free  from  affectation. 
He  showed  me  a  volume  containing  the  original 
letters  of  Cowper,  the  poet,  to  John  Newton,  and 
"directed  my  attention  particularly  to  the  fact  that 
there  was  a  great  change  in  his  handwriting  after 
he  was  overtaken  by  his  mental  malady  ;  that,  whereas 
before,  his  hand  was  very  free,  he  afterwards  evi- 
dently wrote  literatim — taking  his  pen  up  at  every 
letter.  He  spoke  of  John  Wesley  with  great  inter- 
est, and  remembered,  when  he  was  a  child,  to  have 
seen  him  twice — once  as  he  was  coining  down  a  flight 
of  stairs  with  his  mother,  Wesley  met  him,  and  laid 
his  hands  upon  his  head. 

In  our  conversation  about  Buckminster,  I  adverted 
to  the  singular  impression  which  his  father  is  said 
to  have  had  in  respect  to  his  death ;  and  I  immedi- 
ately found  that  Southey  was  no  unbeliever  in  pre- 
ternatural impressions  and  appearances.  He  told 
me  the  following  story,  and  quoted  Mrs.  Hannah 
More  as  his  authority : — A  person  connected  with 
the  cathedral  at  Bristol,  by  the  name  of  Love,  and 
who  was  just  on  the  eve  of  being  married,  dreamed 
that,  in  looking  over  the  register  of  deaths  in  the 
cathedral,  he  saw  his  own  name  at  the  bottom  of 
the  list.  He  was  somewhat  alarmed  by  it,  and  his 
mother  still  more.  Shortly  after,  he  dreamed  that 
in  a  corner  of  the  cathedral,  near  the  cloister,  he 
saw  a  monument  with  his  own  name  upon  it.  A 
few  nights  after,  as  he  was  returning  from  a  visit 
to  the  young  lady  to  whom  he  was  engaged,  he  came 


302  ROBERT    SOUTHEY. 

into  the  house,  pale,  and  almost  breathless ;  and, 
upon  being  asked  what  was  the  matter,  he  replied 
that  on  his  way  home  he  had  witnessed  a  very  strange 
spectacle — several  men  bearing  a  coffin,  covered  with 
red  morocco  and  brass  nails  ;  and  what  chiefly  alarmed 
him  was,  that  they  had  brought  it  into  that  house  ! 
They  immediately  sent  out  to  inquire  if  any  person 
living  in  that  street  had  just  died,  and  they  found 
that  none  had.  They  then  sent  to  every  undertaker 
to  inquire  whether  any  of  them  had  furnished  a  coffin 
that  night,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  none  had 
been  furnished.  Shortly  after  the  poor  fellow  be- 
came suddenly  ill,  and  after  a  few  days  died.  They 
had  great  difficulty,  for  some  time,  in  finding  a  place 
in  the  cathedral  where  he  could  be  buried ;  but  they 
found,  at  length,  one  vacant  place,  and  it  proved  to 
be  in  the  very  corner  where,  in  his  dream,  he  had 
seen  his  monument.  And  when  the  coffin  came,  it 
turned  out  that  the  undertaker,  an  eccentric  man, 
without  having  received  any  such  directions,  and 
merely  from  a  wish  to  testify  his  respect  for  the 
family,  had  had  the  coffin  covered  with  red  morocco 
and  brass  nails.  Southey  assured  me  that  he  had 
not  the  least  doubt  of  these  facts,  and  that  the 
monument  of  the  young  man  was  still  to  be  seen 
in  the  cathedral.  I  understood  him  that  the  event 
had  occurred  just  about  forty  years  before.  As  an- 
other illustration  of  his  being  somewhat  open  to 
the  wonderful,  I  may  mention  that  he  read  me  a 
letter  from  a  friend,  containing  a  remarkable  story 


ROBERT    SOU  THEY.  303 

that  was  told  by  a  fortune-teller  to  John  Cowper, 
brother  of  the  poet,  in  which  his  whole  future  life 
was  laid  open  to  him  while  he  was  yet  very  young. 

Southey  informed  me  that  he  had  long  since  given 
up  being  a  poet,  and  that  he  had  scarcely  written 
ten  lines  of  poetry  during  the  preceding  ten  years  ; 
that  he  had  three  works  before  him  which  he  wished 
much  to  accomplish — namely,  a  History  of  Portugal, 
at  least  two-thirds  of  which  he  had  already  written ; 
a  History  of  the  Monastic  Orders  ;  and  a  History  of 
English  Literature,  from  the  period  at  which  Wharton 
left  the  History  of  Poetry.  His  idea  of  the  History 
of  the  Monastic  Orders  was  conceived  from  having 
lived  in  Portugal,  and  witnessed  the  blasting  in- 
fluence of  the  Koman  Catholic  religion.  He  said 
that  he  had  been  urged  to  write  the  history  of  the 
period  of  our  Kevolution,  and  that  the  idea  was 
suggested  in  consequence  of  his  having  endeavoured 
to  procure  access  for  Mr.  Sparks  to  the  papers  per- 
taining to  that  period  in  the  public  offices  at  Lon- 
don ;  but  that  he  had  already  so  many  things  in 
hand  that  he  could  not  even  consider  the  proposal. 

He  spoke  in  terms  of  strong  reprobation  of  what 
he  called  the  fanaticism  of  the  anti-slavery  party 
in  Great  Britain,  and  remarked  that  there  was  a 
species  of  slavery  existing  among  themselves,  incom- 
parably worse  than  negro  slavery,  over  which  their 
pseudo-philanthropists  were  content  to  slumber — 
namely,  the  condition  of  the  children  in  cotton  fac- 
tories ;  not  less  than  two  hundred  and  forty  thou- 


304  ROBEKT    SOUTHET. 

sand  being  thus  employed  in  a  way  that  was  cha- 
racterized by  the  grossest  cruelty.  He  read  me  part 
of  a  work  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue,  which  he  had 
written  on  the  subject.  He  said  that  he  had  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  a  West  India  plantation, 
compared  with  one  of  these  cotton  factories,  was  a 
garden  of  Eden ;  as  he  dwelt  upon  the  subject  I 
observed  that  his  eyes  filled  with  tears.  He  spoke 
of  having  just  read  Stone's  work  on  Free  Masonry, 
which  he  said  was  certainly  an  extraordinary  pro- 
duction. Free  Masonry,  he  thought,  made  no  noise 
in  Great  Britain,  though  there  was  plenty  of  it  on 
the  Continent ;  and  he  remembered  to  have  met 
some  Prussian  officers  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  who  almost 
wrung  his  hands  off,  to  find  out  whether  he  was 
a  Mason. 

Southey  had  a  splendid  library,  consisting  of  some- 
what more  than  ten  thousand  volumes,  a  large  por- 
tion of  which  were  in  the  different  Continental  lan- 
guages. He  said  he  could  read  the  several  lan- 
guages in  which  they  were  written  with  perfect  ease, 
but  could  never  speak  them,  except  in  his  dreams ; 
and  then  he  often  spoke  them  fluently.  After  hav- 
ing shown  me  his  library,  and  every  thing  about  his 
place  that  he  thought  would  interest  me,  he  pro- 
posed that  we  should  take  a  ramble ;  and  he  ac- 
cordingly took  me  down  to  the  lake  (Darwin),  and 
showed  me  the  spot  where  he  projected  the  most 
celebrated  of  his  poems  ;  then  we  ascended  a  beauti- 
ful hill  in  the  rear  of  the  town,  which  commanded 


EGBERT    SOUTHEY.  305 

a  fine  view  of  the  whole  surrounding  country.  Most 
of  the  time  during  this  walk  he  was  talking  about 
his  "  dear  boy,"  whom  he  had  lost ;  and,  though 
some  years  had  elapsed  from  the  time  of  the  be- 
reavement, I  could  see  the  heart  of  the  father  still 
rising  in  half-suppressed  sobs,  and  sometimes  over- 
flowing in  tears.  I  remained  with  him  during  nearly 
the  whole  day,  leaving  myself  only  time-  enough  to 
return  to  Penrith  before  I  slept.  If  I  had  been  left 
to  form  my  judgment  of  him  merely  from  my  own 
observation,  I  should  still  have  pronounced  him  an 
exalted  specimen  of  both  genius  and  sensibility. 


THE     END, 


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BERKELEY 

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« 

MAY  0  9  19 
km  DISC  MAY  u  >  '31 


1 


LD  21-100m-7,'52(A2528sl6)476 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


r  v 


•«5? 


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